The Entire Thought

“Steamboat Unbridled”

Someone has coined a very clever phrase to market Steamboat Springs this year: Steamboat Unbridled. While walking to the ski area one can see this phrase on banners depicting athletes cutting loose in various sports such as skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking and
horseback riding. The obvious message is that it is extremely cool to be
unbridled in sporting activities, and Steamboat is the place to let your wild side come out because Steamboat is, itself, unbridled. I must admit that these posters made me so excited that I ran to the gondola (with snowboard boots on)!
But I recently gained a different perspective on the word “unbridled”. Steve Givens wrote a reflection in Living Faith for
February 13 which compared us to horses and God to the One who is trying to tame us, i.e. the Horse Whisperer. At first I reacted to this negatively, recalling the hard tactics sometimes used to “break a horse.” But if you saw the movie, “Horse Whisperer,” or if you know a horse trainer, you know that the gifted trainers often use gentle means and whispers, and have an intuition about the horse that is not oppressive. Taming the wildness of a horse is not necessarily to make him or her a slave. According to Biblical revelation, God created some animals to serve our needs and to work together with us in harmony.
During this season of Lent, we can think about what inside of us is still wild and resisting the gentle voice of the Horse Whisperer. Do our passionate independent spirits refuse to accept the hand of our Creator who wants to lead us gently along the path of life? Perhaps all the noise around us or within us is preventing us from hearing him as he gently whispers in our ears: “follow me; walk this way; don’t be afraid.” As the horse trainer must earn the trust of the horse, so our God is trying to earn our trust. We were created to love and serve the Lord and our neighbor. When we submit to this law which is in the depths of our
nature, we will be most content and fulfilled; we will be nourished, cared for and protected by our Master. When we trust that He is with us we will have nothing to fear.
But God does not force us with a bridle and bit to obey him. He wants us to submit to his will through the freedom of our own will. He says in Psalm 32: 8-9:
“I will instruct you and show you the way you should walk, give you counsel and watch over you. Do not be senseless like horses or mules; with bit and bridle their temper is curbed, else they will not come to you.”
God actually wants us to be unbridled, but not wild. He wants us to live our lives freely consenting to his will. In order to live this way, two things are necessary. First, we need to take time to be alone with Jesus, to go up the mountain with him as the disciples in today’s gospel (Matt. 17:1-9). Lent is a great time to seek the transfigured Jesus in prayer, and to “listen to him” (17:5). And once we have heard his voice we have simply to follow with the faith of Abraham (today’s first
reading, Genesis 12: 1-4).
I know, it’s easier said than done.
Lord, help us to trust you as a horse trusts his or her trainer, rider,
and friend.
Fr. Ernest Bayer

Entire list of Thoughts While Pastoring