Out Our Way: Prairie jellyfish - Psalm 73

Out our way, there are various predators to face. Doc and I have run into coyotes, snakes, and even mountain lions. But the "prairie jellyfish" frightened ole Doc more than any of them when he first met up with one.

What is a "prairie jellyfish?" It is one of those plastic bags from the grocery store that escaped the trash can and is blown across the prairie, flapping loudly in the wind and racing along the ground. To a horse unused to the sight and sound, it is downright terrifying. But there is a cure.

My buddy, Rick, rigged up an old fishing pole and attached a bag to the tip. Then he had me hold the lead rope firmly, approach Doc with calming words, and wave the bag in front of his eyes. Doc tried to run, tried to rear, tried to lash out with his front hooves, but I held him in place. The bag made that noise that had frightened him before as I swished it before him, swooped it down on the ground and then again up in the air, and then held it before him so he could get a really good look and whiff. In a few moments, he realized the dreaded "prairie jellyfish" was just a bag of air. From that point on, he ignored them whenever one popped up.

Well, we humans have to deal with our own versions of "prairie jellyfish," for we are constantly being frightened by noisy bags of wind who pop up all around us. Politicians, celebrities, the rich and famous seem great and powerful, but if, like Doc, we can stand still long enough to take a good look and get a good whiff, we soon see and smell the deception, discovering their true nature. And then we learn to ignore them.

Now other horses who have not discovered the true nature of the "prairie jellyfish" still panic, and the herd instinct is strong. Even Doc, who knows better, will run in panic when the others stampede, for he responds to their fear and runs with the herd without thinking. Only later, when things calm down, does he remember that what panicked and stampeded all the others was just a bag of wind. He "comes to himself" and leaves the ignorant and gullible behind instead of continuing to blindly follow them in their foolishness.  

Of course, Doc is only a horse, with a brain about the size of an orange I am told. So what is my excuse? Like the Psalmist, I know better. Yet in these days of turmoil when "prairie jellyfish" swarm in our culture and panic so many, I often find myself running with the others for a time. I have to make the effort to not just blindly follow, but remember that the bag of wind that created the panic and set them off is still only a bag of wind. I also have to remember that unlike the true "prairie jellyfish," these human versions are aware of what they are doing and deliberate in doing it.  

But a calm spirit that allows me to take a good look and a good whiff destroys their power over me. Recall the incident in Luke 13:10-17 where the wind bags of the synagogue chastised Jesus for healing a crippled woman on the Sabbath. They sought to panic the flock with their flapping of superiority and self-righteousness. Instead of praising God and rejoicing in the woman's healing, they attacked Jesus for healing her because in doing so on the Sabbath, he dared to challenge the ruling "wind bags" of the time.   

Jesus didn't call them "wind bags," but something very similar. He called them "hypocrites," which comes from the Greek word for an actor, someone just playing a role and pretending to be someone or something he is not. The synagogue rulers pretended to serve God and the people, but they were just "prairie jellyfish," noisy bags of wind whom Jesus exposed as such.

"By their fruits you will know them," (Matthew 7:15-20) Jesus taught. So when a "prairie jellyfish" comes whipping across your path be it on TV, the radio, the internet or face to face, remember who you are and Whose you are. Though the foolish and gullible panic and are easily herded by these human bags of wind, you know better. Stand still and take a good look. Breathe deep and take a good whiff. You will see and smell the truth, and just maybe others will follow your example and start to do the same. The "prairie jellyfish" will always be with us, but once exposed, their power to control us is ended.

Be blessed and be a blessing.

Brother John

--

The Rev. John Bruington is the retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Havre. He now lives in Colorado, but continues to write "Out Our Way." He can be reached for comment or dialogue at [email protected].