Taming the Bear
In Richard Adams’s fantasy novel Shardik, a great bear, fleeing a raging forest fire, stumbles almost dead upon the outskirts of a rural fishing village. It happens that these fishermen worship the Great Bear, and their priestesses live in ritual preparation for the return of Lord Shardik, the incarnate power of God in the form of a bear. A simple hunter discovers the wounded bear and relays his discovery to the proper authorities, the powerful baron of the village and the high priestess of Shardik. This bear is of abnormally large girth, and everyone pretty much agrees it must be the real thing.
There is now a problem. The advent of Lord Shardik is a complicated phenomenon. For, being a bear, he is not controllable. As he lies on the verge of death, he presents his disciples with a quandary: Should they help restore the bear to health and see what it does, come what may? Should they kill the bear and so be free from the dangers it presents to their safety and way of life? Should they run away from the bear? Or should they find a way to contain and subdue the bear and utilize its presence and power to support their political and military aims?
Responses to Reality
Shardik provides an analogy for the way confessing believers respond to the reality of God in their lives. In the story, the high priestess and the simple hunter are the true worshipers of the bear. They believe that its appearance is what their faith has been preparing them for and pointing to all along. They know they may very well die in the service of Shardik: “Awe and dread I feel indeed, but most, I am afraid simply of being torn to pieces by a bear,” admits the hunter to the priestess. She responds, “There is such a thing as getting more than we bargain for. Many pray. How many have really considered what it would mean if the prayers were granted?”
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N. E. Ziegenhagen is the vicar of Trinity Anglican Church in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, where he lives with his wife and six children.
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