Spiritual lessons from the mule
Growing up it was always my sister that was destined to become the cowgirl. She was captivated by horses from a young age. My Little Pony may have had something to do with it. She eventually wore my parents down to get her a horse in middle school. She studied agriculture at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for college and has always owned horses since. As a younger brother I was occasionally toted around with her equine obsession. Our annual camping trip to Yosemite was often punctuated with a trail ride. Inevitably my sister would be matched with the pack station’s most majestic steed with a long flowing mane, and then they would plop me on a short mule with a quirky mohawk. I suppose one look at me told the outfit that they had better match me with a slow and steady animal. This is the way I remember it anyway.
I confess I was prejudiced against the mules. They just looked a bit silly to me. Their long ears, thin legs and spikey manes didn’t exactly make me feel like the conquesting Roman centurion that my 10-year-old ego wanted to be. But then kids often place too much value on the outward appearance of a thing, and undervalue what lies underneath the hood. It turns out the humble beast called the mule can teach us a lot about living well.
A mule is a patient animal. They can be strapped with hundreds of pounds and then walk steadily for mile after mile on steep trails without needing a rest. And they’re not afraid of hard work. This is not a bad picture of the life of faith. Pastor Eugene Peterson wrote a popular book called, “The Long Obedience in the Same Direction.” The title stands in sharp contrast to today’s world where we like quick progress. We want to lose three pounds per week on our diet. We want to switch lines in the grocery store to get checked out quicker. We want the video to hurry up and finish buffering so we can get on with our show. The life of faith doesn’t come fully cooked from the microwave. Instead, God chose to give us a tried-and-true trail for us to walk on day after day. Trusting that if we keep putting one hoof, or foot, in front of the other, eventually we will make it to that glorious cabin in the mountains.
The path can feel dusty, and sometimes dated, but it comes with the commendation of thousands and thousands that have trod it over the years. It includes walking upon the stones that are the Word of God. Each rock is a different principle that we know can take our weight. Like a mule, our steps are steady and sure-footed when we are trusting our beliefs about the world to something outside our own changing feelings and culture. “The word of the Lord is tried; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him” (Ps 18:30). Have you read the bible? Have you spent a little time to try to understand faithful models of interpreting it? It is the most read book in the history of the world, with good reason. It expresses God’s heart, and his trail that He desires us to walk. A guide like, “How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth,” by Gordon Fee can be a great help when you are ready.
The path continues on with lovely vistas and running water and green pine trees. These refreshing spots include our daily prayers, a weekly celebration of Holy Communion and a discovery of our place of service. In the same way that a working mule learns to enjoy the colaboring of puling a wagon or plow, or marching up a trail with its companions, so we have the opportunity in this life to develop the satisfaction of having contributed to the corporate work of serving with our God.
Our spiritual journeys won’t always be as sure footed as a seasoned mule. We will stumble, and we will go through seasons of feeling tired, lazy or unproductive in our faith. But God doesn’t just look at us with our outward appearance and say ‘you have an ugly mohawk.’ Rather he looks at the heart, and when He sees faith in Christ, he picks us up, dusts us off, forgives our sin, and encourages us to continue on with the long, mule-like, journey of faith.
Together in the Journey, Father Cam Lemons
(Father Cam Lemons serves at St. Timothy’s Anglican Church. Service is at 9 a.m. on Sunday at 700 Hobson St. in Bishop. He also serves at Trinity Memorial Anglican
Church in Lone Pine. The service there is at noon at 220 N. Lakeview Road. For more information, go to StTimothysBishop.com.)