Chapter One: "Lessons My Dog Taught Me"

"...for GOD has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the wise..."

   Look at the lessons that God has given us in the lilies of the field!

   The seeds of almost any organism are essentially the same, in their needs. They must be nourished, hydrated, warmed, sheltered and reproduced. A lily, without carpooling, without 70-hour weeks, without  stress, and the inevitable stress-reducing tactics we employ, or substances we ingest, and without spiritual turmoil, resentment  or divorce from its "mate", or from God, manages to meet all of its own needs. The means to satiate those needs were given it by God. It didn't buy its roots. It didn't have to learn how to tilt its leaves to face the Sun, or how to furl them when conditions were too hot, too cold or too dry.God gave that innate knowledge to the first lily, which then passed it along to each subsequent generation.

   Now, the more I write, the more I see there is TO write, that a single illustration could with ease become a full-length sermon! But in point of fact, the lily was supposed to be only one illustration among several in a paragraph-long introduction to this morning's lesson, which I've titled: "LESSONS MY DOG TAUGHT ME, Part II". Some here may remember Part One, some 16 months ago, in which I spoke of grooming our new puppy.The pain of pulling the knots from his matted back, the anxiety I gave...AND felt!...while holding his head, in order to be able to trim and clean his ears, or holding his feet, so that I could clip his nails, caused Gizmo to growl, and even, more than once, to attempt to bite me. Why could he not see that my actions, as painful and aggressive as they might seem in the moment, were for HIS benefit, and would make him healthier and happier over the long haul?

   Then, I analogized GIZMO's feelings while being groomed, to MY feelings, when God attempts to "groom" MY life; the frustration, anxiety, and yes, eventually the anger I experienced at his stubborn refusal to be helped and his lashing out at my undefended hand, to God's  frustration and anger at Mankind's inability or unwillingness to accept His direction. For Humankind are creatures of the Short View, but it is necessary that we train ourselves to better see the Long View, God's view, if we are ever to please Him, or serve Him adequately.

   Part Two, then, deals with the Puppy again, this time the process of bathing him, and walking him. Before we first moved to the apartment on Pontchartrain last December, I contemplated the many new hazards which would confront our young child, our Gizmo: a marsh and a busy highway on one side, a narrow but very active driveway and a canal on the other. I determined that if Pat, the puppy and myself were going to live here, that Gizmo's outdoor play time was going to have to be curtailed, that he would no longer be able to go out for two hour and longer romps in the woods, going wherever he pleased, as he had ever since being big enough to negotiate steps. No, now his outdoor time would have to be limited to a single half-hour walk, and that on a lead! Do you suppose that Gizmo appreciated the caution we were taking on his behalf, the measures we took to protect him? I THINK NOT!  He only knew that for the first time in his life,he could NOT go where he wanted, when he wanted, and stay as long as he wanted. He knew that his neck hurt when he tugged persistently, seeking an aroma of particular interest, or when I tugged relentlessly, as I, footsore, sought to steer us toward home.

   God once gave an itinerant band of nomadic goatherds a similar short lead some 6000 years ago.You can bet that they didn't appreciate it, either! Their tugging was  so relentless, in fact, that on more than one occasion, God, in effect,  just dropped the lead, and let them run. Invariably, they ran straight into a deluge, or a conquering army! Eventually, God's anger, and His perplexity at THEIR anger would cool, and He would invite them, whimpering and tail-tucked, back into His care. This cycle repeated itself more often than I can recollect, as they cried, "Let us have Judges!", when God Himself wanted to be their sole source of Justice, and "Let us have Kings!", when God Himself wanted to be their final figure of authority. Their plans were  short-sighted, and invariably led to tragedy. Even when God allowed them a longer lead, more freedom, they rebelled, saying in effect, that any limitation was too much limitation! They had what you might call "LEAD (led) Poisoning". This brings me to my next point.

   Friday, I went to bathe Gizmo. I laid out the towel and the shampoo, attached the nozzle and turned on the water, to assure it was  sufficiently warm; in short, I made every possible accommodation to assure that this brief unpleasantness was as comfortable as it could be. Do you suppose he appreciated my efforts on his behalf? I THINK NOT! For when I attempted to lift him off the bed, the head went down, the bottom teeth came out, and the growl ensued! I was perplexed (though not surprised!) Did he not know that I had only his welfare, his comfort in mind? Could he not appreciate how much better he would smell, how much less he would itch, after a warm bath?Again, I think not. For he too has the short view, and is unwilling to accept the discomfort of the moment, however slight, however brief, to achieve the long-term benefit, the certain pleasure. "That's THEN,", his attitude seemed to say, "But this is NOW!"

   After getting down nose-to-nose with him, and sternly but lovingly attempting to assert my authority, I was ready to give up, as I had no desire to be bitten again. Sighing, I headed toward the bathroom to turn off the water. When I turned around a moment later, imagine my surprise when Pat, puppy in arm, was at the door! "How'd you DO that?!", I asked incredulously. "I just loved him, and told him it would be all right!", she beamed..

   And that's the point that makes this a fit lesson for us all. The lilies, the puppies, the people are always going to confuse, confound and bewilder those who think themselves wise. No amount of reasoning, no authority from "on high" will ever impress them! Only love, tolerance and patience will achieve the result that both the simple and the wise desire! So, when four thousand years of law, authority and retribution had not changed the attitude of the people, and Jesus (figuratively speaking), came to the Father and said, "Let me try a different approach!", God acceded...and thank God He did! For though we would NOT come to Him because He required us to, when He made it OUR decision, many have come to Him willingly, even gladly!

   So, even as the puppy is puzzled by the flowers, and the person is perplexed by the puppy, so God is often confounded by the people! And even as Pat was willing to change our approach to Gizmo, so He was willing to change his approach to us, and it has worked! If we keep up in this trend, perhaps one day we shall be as smart as the humble lily...

 

"Consider the lilies of the field,:

they toil not, neither do they  spin,

yet even Solomon in all his glory

was not arrayed like one of these"

(Luke 12:27)

  

Reviews

[Ellen Hammond]

It is amazing what we can learn from pets and children when we open our hearts and minds to glimpse the bigger picture. Our 'grooming' may be painful or frightening and no doubt we will react negatively at first too. But, just as Gizmo responded to a loving approach rather than an authoritative one, we likewise respond and accept our grooming, or pruning, rather than baring our teeth, when we come to the realization that we are in loving hand and it will be okay.

But, have you ever bathed a puppy who once groomed, then given a bit of freedom, immediately splashes through all too inviting mud puddles or rolls in the dirt? Do you get frustrated and angry or roll your eys then laugh at his antics? And do you plunge him back into the bath and scrub harder? What do you suppose the Lord does before scrubbing another layer of crud off of us, when we give into temptations we just can't resist as soon as we don't feel the tug of the leash?

[Sukriti Suki]

When spirituality meets our deepest thoughts we realise everything on this earth is quite the same...patience trust and belief is all that will take us through. Good work.

[Shep]

You have made me think and by reading this have made things clear and lesson that I to needed to learn Thank you for such a heart warming talk and guidance. this was very well written.

[C.T. Bailey]

I have just learned some great insight about you Mark. I think this is a strong piece that communicates well to the member's of the Lord's church the concepts of both free will and the often misunderstood workings for "all those who are called according to his purpose." I am not familar with the term "homily," however, we too remember the sacrifice every first day of the week in the same fashion as you have described in the prologue. Mark, this is a good message with a format the Christ would approve - that of a parable...Nicely done sir!

[emmajoy]

What an amazing to-in and fro-ing of thought and word, Mark.

I've read this twice and see such incredible humanity melded with sincere belief .. broad thought and near analysis as to how the Human in us thinks on God, on His place in or out of our lives.

What is wisdom if it's only to used to impress others rather than better ourselves?

Your analogy of dog and spiritual attitude is extraordinary on first glance but the way in which you put things, with wit and dry nudges to a constrained thinker, puts it out - 'cards on table'.

You're oh so right too .. we in our infinite childhood assume that God EXPECTS us to do His bidding .. tis not the case .. He would LIKE us to .. we have choice.

This is a wonderful and thoughtful piece of writing-come- sermon .. and I truly look forward to reading the others.

[Marie Anzalone]

Mark:

I will speak as a person who has been trained in animal medicine, as has worked in this field since I was about 8 years old: no, they NEVER Get used to the fact that you are trying to do something good for them, and they never seem to associate the little bit of distress we put them through with how much better they feel when we are done.

I always had a problem, though with telling human beings to be self-reliant. I really believe, as the Quakers do, that we can only truly manifest the word of the higher power through our interactions with other human beings. It is depending on each other, not the grace of God, that really keeps us humble.

I really liked this Mark, and I liked what you are trying to say with it. Your gentle and witty sense of humor, your insight, and your very views of life and the world come through in this. I will be very interested to see this series as it unfolds further. I wonder if you feel you have a calling for this kind of soul work, my friend?