American Buffalo (Bison bison bison) ~ Emboldened and not Embittered
“I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord God helps me...Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.” –Isaiah 50v6-10
I once heard a wild west story about a polka-dotted landscape that stretched far as the eye could see. The prairie had been set ablaze by a flash-fire the day before, and the ground was scorched; brown and mottled like an alien planet. But here and there stood little oval patches of living earth. The lime green dots stood cheerfully in stark contrast against the ravaged fields. And there on the distant horizon, a herd of bison marched on, unscathed, in the rosy morning light.
Bison can withstand the most intense conditions the prairie has to offer. If you converted a honey badger into a bovid, you’d get a bison. It gives me great satisfaction that the bison is America’s national mammal. They are also the largest mammal on the North American continent with males weighing in at around 2,000 pounds while the more diminutive females weigh half as much. It’s not uncommon to see a 6-foot-tall male. Calves were historically called ‘red dogs’ because of their red color and straight back. Bison may be the largest mammal on the continent, but they are by no means clunky. The first time I saw a bison hop a tall fence I was shocked. They are remarkably agile, spinning on a dime, and quickly gaining their top speed of 35 miles per hour. They are also strong swimmers.
Bison are often called ‘buffalo’ but technically this name is reserved for old world bovid species. (The same can be said for ‘antelope’… they are called ‘pronghorn’ in the states.) It’s hard to not sound excited whenever speaking scientifically about the American buffalo because their scientific name is Bison! Bison! Bison! Perhaps it’s fitting, since whenever you see one you are likely to see at least two others. They live in transient herds, always on the move. But they behave rather differently from other herding animals of North America.
For instance, when wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in 1995, researchers found that elk changed their habitat use significantly to avoid the wolves, but bison didn’t change their habitat use at all. Basically, they showed no fear response to the presence of wolves. [1]
For another thing, during inclement weather, bison head straight into a storm rather than away from it. Farmers have tried to breed this trait into cattle, which are sometimes driven away from a prairie blizzard into snow fences only to die by suffocation under the snow [2]. Bison don’t seem bothered by blizzards. They hold their ground, calmly and patiently sweeping the snow away to leave exposed patches of grass to feed on.
But perhaps the most impressive thing about bison is their skin. Bison leather is one of the strongest upholstery materials known to man, which makes sense given that their epidermal layer is three times thicker than that of cattle. Bison hide is not only cold resistant, but also flame resistant. During flash fires, the animals have been observed hunkering down on the ground, covering their faces, and letting the fire pass over them. Then they get up and go about their day. In fact, many Native American tribes practiced regular prairie burning to keep bison around, since they like the fresh grass growth!
I keep thinking about the thick-skinned bison these past few days. I’ve always been a tender person. If I’m with my friend and she starts crying, I’ll usually start crying too. My skin is scarred, marred by words, dimpled and torn by curses spoken over me. The question I’ve been wrestling with is: how do I let my skin get tougher and let my heart get softer? The last thing I want to do is become a bitter person. Yet, as anyone in public ministry knows, if you don’t have a tough hide you’ll be ripped apart quickly.
As in all things, I hear the gentle voice of Jesus calling to me. He says, ‘look at Me…and see.’ I look at His face. I see how full of love His eyes are. I see the gentle play of a smile at the corners of His mouth. And I see on His brow the scattered white lines where the thorns went in. I see the mangled flesh at the side of His face where a hundred blows fell. I see the broken nose, the patchy beard where they tore away the hair. But He smiles still, and looks at me. He is not ashamed. I smile back, and as I do, I am weeping. Here it is, the perfect example. He who knew no sin knew how to bear it perfectly. He stood calmly, His voice silent, His face set like flint, as Pontius Pilate accused Him. He faced the cross and did not back down. When the sky grew black, my Jesus turned and walked straight into the storm. But His heart! His heart never grew bitter. He looked down at the crowds as they killed Him, and He begged His Father to have mercy on them.
The piece of music that ministered to me most during this past year was Movement 23 from Handel's Messiah. It is an aria titled “He was Despised”. This is the longest movement in the Messiah oratorio, and it occurs at the exact midpoint of the work. The words of the aria are from Isaiah 53v3: “He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” and from Isaiah 50v6: “He gave His back to the smiters, and His cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. He hid not His face from shame and spitting.” It is a beautiful piece of music, and very sad. It includes an orchestral accompaniment or sighing motifs which were a device for expressing pain and grief. Usually not included in modern performance were many dotted rhythms in the middle of the movement, alluding to the mocks and whip lashes from Christ’s accusers.
Last year I began to pray a new prayer: “Oh God who was despised, teach me to be hated well.” I prayed this prayer every day for about a week, and then one day the Lord replied, “Only if you allow Me to teach you how to be well-loved.” Since then I’ve learned a great deal more about love, by God’s grace. I am learning more and more how to love others, and how to accept the love of others. Remember: the bison is a remarkably powerful animal, and yet it always moves in herds. They face the storm, but they never face it alone. As Isaiah 50v6-10 says, “I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord God helps me...Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”
Nowadays, I sense my prayers are changing. They no longer sound like, ‘God, take these attacks away’, but ‘God, give me a stronger hide’. I’m learning to stand in the blizzard, in the blast of callous ice raining down from the Twittersphere, to put my head down and just keep feasting on the Word of God before me. God is teaching me to stand firm when the fires of angry words surround me. I bow before him, I cover my ears and my eyes, and I let His covering protect me. When lies and fabricated accusations about me come to nip at my heels, I will not fear the wolves. I won’t leave where I’ve been put. I won’t give up what I’ve been called to. God is teaching me to ignore the storm and just keep on moving in the direction He pointed me. His perfect reputation is the hide that saves me from death.
God might not take away the attacks, but He does give us strength to withstand them. Are you feeling accused today? Has someone brought false claims against you to destroy your reputation? Look to Christ to be your example. Look to Him who didn’t need to make a defense, but let His reputation speak for itself. Look to Him who prayed for His accusers even as they cut Him down. May we be firm but gracious, steady but kind, emboldened and not embittered.
[1] Hernández, L., & Laundré, J. W. (September 01, 2005). Foraging in the ‘landscape of fear’ and its implications for habitat use and diet quality of elk Cervus elaphus and bison Bison bison. Wildlife Biology, 11, 3, 215-220.
[2] Fitzgerald, J. P., Meaney, C. A., Armstrong, D. M. (1994). Mammals of Colorado. University Press of Colorado. Page 404
[3] From https://www.buffalocollection.com/why-buffalo-leather
Bison photograph from Unsplash
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