Out Our Way: The Gospel According to Goliath: Boss Hoss

Now Jesus withdrew to the seaside with his disciples, and great crowds from Galilee followed him. In addition, great numbers of people also came from Judea and Jerusalem and the surrounding areas, for the word about the great things he was doing had spread across the region. Jesus had his disciples get a boat ready for the crowds were so vast that people were crushing each other trying to get close and be touched by him, for many were thus being healed. Some came who had unclean spirits and when they came to him, they threw themselves down at his feet and shouted, "You are the Son of God." But he silenced them and forbade them to make him known.

Out our way, a horse makes a reputation for himself wherever he goes.  When horses are put into pasture together for the first time, there are often a few kicks, bites and scratches shared around the herd as "boss" hoss is determined.

Now, given Goliath's size and youth and courage, he managed to pick up a few scars along the way, but it seems the other cayuses usually ended up with more - and Goliath was usually the undisputed head honcho. This was especially obvious when I brought the grain buckets out in the winter.  He was in the pasture with some five or six others and I put his grain bucket (the blue one) quite a ways away from where I set Babe's bucket - the pink one, of course. Amazingly, as much as he loves Babe, was buddies with the other geldings, and Uncle Goliath to the foals, nobody came near either bucket for long until after Goliath was done.

Old Doc - who often took some spurring and the quirt to move from a fast trot to a gallup when working cattle - really was a contender for the Kentucky Derby when it came to the grain buckets. He could move very quickly between the buckets if anyone got close - and so nobody did.

Other critters tended to keep their distance as well.  Old Jack, the Rez dog who thought horses were playmates got nipped a few times until he learned his lesson - for Goliath tolerated dogs, but only on the trail when they proved useful in checking out possible mountain lions along some of the back trails. But even the lions gave Goliath a wide birth. I have told the story of that lion that snuck into the pasture a few years back when I was currying Goliath.  I didn't spot him right away, but Goliath did - and that cat took off at a pretty good clip when he realized Goliath was on the job.

Plain and simple, don't mess with Goliath. That cougar, Jack the Rez dog and even Babe, his beautiful girl friend, all got the message. I notice the same thing with the unclean spirits and Christ. 

Years ago, a scary movie called  "The Amityville Horror" came out of Hollywood. A supposedly true story of a haunted house back East that had been taken over by demons. There was a scene in which a priest was called in to exorcise the demons - and instead they exorcized him! The door slammed shut on a small room that began to fill with flies - recall the name "Baalzebub" means "Lord of the flies," one of the names given to the devil. The priest panics and a deep voice shouts, "Get out!" and the priest runs for the hills.

A few years later, the people who actually owned the house featured in the movie were interviewed. Apparently Hollywood got it backwards.  According to these folks, an exorcist came in and commanded Satan, in the Name of Christ, to get out. End of the story. The unclean spirits left.  When one reads of the confrontations between Christ and the unclean spirits or demons in the Bible, it is always the same.  Christ commands to "git" and they obey. End of story.

In today's text we see that same authority over disease and unclean spirits. No major battles - a touch, a command and it is so.  Like the mountain lions, dogs and other horses that came into Goliath's presence, there was never any question of who was "boss hoss" when the forces of darkness came up against the Light of the World. In these days of "gloom and doom" - it's sort of nice to know we are in His corner.  

(John Bruington and company can be found at www. havrepres.org and their book "Out Our Way" is available at Amazon.)