Killer Sheep

I’m borrowing a lot today. The title is from a description I heard several years ago of the “new” believers rising up in the church. Yes, it is an oxymoron, but isn’t life? The impetus of this writing is from a recent discussion I had with a few friends on the book written by Cynthia Bourgeault entitled “The Wisdom Jesus.” I wrote previously how a passage out of this book has rocked and transformed my entire theological perspective. Our discussion was a further refinement of just how we have slumbered through a life full of descriptions in the divine nature.

In this book, Cynthia teaches on the term “metanoia” which has been interpreted as “repentance” in the Greek biblical writings. She offers a much more relevant clarification to this word as, “…entering into the larger mind.” Humanity functions for the most part out of the small egoic mind. We are focused on our holy trinity, me, myself and I, more than those around us. The “larger mind” is stepping up or out into the consciousness of the universe.

In the discussion we were having the metaphor or image which was brought forward was the biblical representation of the lion and the lamb. The book of Isaiah declares that in the final days the lion will lay down with the lamb in harmony. This image became a backdrop of the small/large mind description we were encountering.

When you consider the image of a lion, we immediately visualize a bold, roaring beast, king of the savannah, chasing down and devouring its prey. Lions are violent, reactive predatory beasts. Lambs, in contrast, are docile domesticated animals. The term “lamb” actually describes a sheep less than one year old. So, to see a lion reclining next to baby lamb is pretty alarming! You expect any moment for the lion to turn its head and swallow the lamb whole!

Now it was brought up how many believe this image means that in the final days the lion becomes a vegetarian, no longer having the desire to consume other animals. Somehow this thought makes God’s original purpose for the lion to be errant. Why didn’t God just make the lion a vegetarian to begin with? No, a lion is designed to kill, to thin the herds of the weakest, the sick, and the slowest. The survival of the fittest is a direct result of the proper design and function of the lion.

Cynthia relates a particular story from the Little Prince to move us into our next level of refinement.

Remember that wonderful passage from The Little Prince when the fox asks, “To tame something: what does that mean?” The prince replies, “It means to form bonds. If I tame you, I become responsible for you, and you depend on me because I have tamed you.”

The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind–A New Perspective on Christ and His Message (p. 43). Shambhala. Kindle Edition.

Did the lamb tame the lion? Does the large mind tame the small mind?

Humans are wild beasts. Rough and rugged, we enter this world concerned with only one thing: Me. We fight and devour one another; we kill our weakest; we roar loudly so other will pay attention to us. Our small egoic mind is very animalistic. Yes, we do make inroads towards domesticating the beast, however, most often it is merely one beast battling the impulses from another beast vying for hierarchal dominance. Sometimes, in hindsight, we even recognize within us the destructive path taken to satisfy the lustful cravings consuming the beast who we are and promise ourselves, and those who have encountered the gnashing, tearing maul of our insecurity that we will never cross that path again. Yet we know, deep inside, our territory will be protected at all costs no matter what animal ventures into it.

Lambs are lovable and cuddly. Humans aren’t, except when they are babies; but only until they begin crying at two in the morning, then they awaken the beast within. Lambs don’t bring the beast out. They make you feel all warm and good inside, even when they are whining for food. Lambs have the inherent nature it seems to tame us and form a bond.

When the human is born into this world, the animal is occupied by a soul, an eternal soul, who when the human dies, will return back into the eternal realm while the flesh, the mortal tent of the soul, will return back into the ground of its being. The wonder of humanity is the amalgamation of a beast concerned with its survival and the divine living eternal. Rarely does the small mind of the beast ever acknowledge the existence of the larger mind which resides within. Rarely does our ego consider that a realm of love is merely a breath within. Rarely does the roar stop to listen to the silent bond of dependence.

We clamor for change. Yet we are unwilling to be silent, to be present and acknowledge presence of a larger mind within and around. We refuse to be tamed and therefore miss the bond which responsibility yearns for and dependence craves. Are we ready to move into the big mind? Are we willing to be tamed by love? Can the love of a sheep kill us so creation can rejoice at our sonship?