The Moose

There is definitely something Canadian about a Moose. That is not to say that they don’t exist anywhere else or that they are exclusively Canadian, but somehow this animal has come to be associated with what it means to be Canadian. Maybe you have seen them in a souvenir shop, on a T-Shirt, as a stuffed toy or even dressed as a Mountie, often with a big goofy grin and always very cute. As one who lives in the suburbs, despite the fact that I am thoroughly Canadian, I do not often come across a Moose. I have, however, had the chance to see a live Moose out in the wild while on a canoe trip in Algonquin Park (a large Provincial Park of 7630 square kilometers). It was a most majestic sight to see this huge, powerful animal drinking at the edge of the river as we quietly paddled by. I realized that the image of this Moose was far more intense than any souvenir I had seen. My father in law has also shared stories of Moose from his days working for Ontario Hydro. He would recount stories from the linemen working in northern Ontario of Moose who would charge the Hydro trucks and try to buck them off the road! Moose are extremely large and powerful and can be very aggressive. Again, not what we often see in the souvenir shops. It got me thinking about how we perceive Jesus.
The reality of Jesus is complex and even paradoxical, and we can make the mistake of recognizing one aspect of Jesus to the exclusion of the other. We can miss a huge part of who Jesus is, thus affecting how we respond to him. On the one hand Jesus is the almighty creator of the universe, uniquely divine, and Sovereign Lord. On the other hand, the 15th chapter of John reminds us that he would call his disciples “friends.” This is such a profound statement, however, only when we realize his power and authority which makes such a friendship so amazing to consider. We could make the mistake of seeing Jesus as “buddy Jesus” like a good friend, at the expense of recognizing his uniqueness, and vise versa. Each scenario would mean a limited understanding of the full depth of Jesus’ person. An amazing passage that captures the two extremes of Jesus’ person and role can be found in Revelation 5. In this chapter we are presented with the image of the Lamb, the one who was slain, who laid down his life for others and who takes away the sin of the world. And yet just before the image of the Lamb, we read of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, another image for Jesus. Powerful and Victorious. Lion and Lamb, back to back, presented by the author together. Two extremes, even paradoxical, but only together do they give a full sense of who Jesus is.
Let us not forget that Jesus is the Lamb, and one who longs to call us friend. But let us also not forget that He is the Lion and that what C.S. Lewis wrote about Aslan in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, could certainly be said of Jesus; “He’s wild you know. Not like a tame Lion.”