Geese, revisited

I was taking a walk on a nice day earlier this week on campus and enjoyed catching a familiar sight: Canada geese swimming in the pond and strutting around on the bank.

(By the way, the die-hard copy editor in me feels the need to point out that, yes, it is Canada geese rather than Canadian.)

A few times, I was amazed that one of the ones waddling didn't topple over, tripping over its webbed feet as it swayed widely with each step. Then I would look at the ones gliding across the water's surface, knowing those feet were paddling like mad below.

These geese were a pleasant reminder that spring is coming back soon. And as I watched them, I  reflected the concepts I shared in my recent post on the goose as a symbol for the Spirit. Another parallel popped in my head today after listening to several fellow seminary students talk about call experiences.

It seems to me that a really good, inspired preacher is a lot like a goose. Such a speaker sometimes shows an audience a beautiful image of a life filled with the Spirit that makes the soul glow with joy. The secret is that the speaker puts a lot of effort and energy into research, prayer and contemplation, and delivery, and the great ones make it look easy.

But then again, all of us have to step outside our element sometime. There will always be some situation in which we look like those bumbling geese on land.

My hope is that when I'm playing the waddling goose, others won't laugh too hard, and my goal is to be as generous when those around me have their turn on dry ground.