Out Our Way: That none be lost - Luke 24:13-35

Out our way, the roundup is the payoff. Pulling calves in February, hauling feed during blizzards, riding fence and constantly checking the herd, moving them to better pasture when the land is being overgrazed and such is what we do day in and day out. But come the roundup when we drive them to the loading corrals and ship them off is when all that work is done.   

Now, Big Mike, who leased the land and owned the cattle, put together a pretty big crew that day. He had a crew to work the corral and run the chutes as they loaded the big trucks; he had another crew outfitted with those fancy all-terrain four-wheelers to cover most of the pasture and drive the main body of the herd; and then he had Charlie and me to hunt for strays.

I am not sure how many cattle were in the head that day, but certainly 300-plus head were being driven across the open plains by the four-wheelers when Charlie and I rode to the other side of the area to hunt strays the motorized cavalry had missed.    

Mike and the guys on the four-wheelers were a lot faster than Charlie and me, and those buggies can maneuver pretty well. It didn't take much for them to catch and keep together a huge herd in just a few short hours. Pretty impressive to watch. But as great as those machines were, they couldn't get to where some of the strays had gone. Narrow arroyos, deep gorges, thickets of thorn trees, and some wet lands where even a four-wheeler could easily get stuck in the mud were obstacles to the mechanized cowpokes. That is why Charlie and I were there on horseback - going to the less traveled and harder areas to reach. I was impressed watching some five four-wheelers spread out on the flats below driving a herd of 300-plus or so before them. But at the end of the day, our boss, Big Mike, was impressed when Charlie and I herded some 70 more cattle we had picked up in the hidden and forgotten parts of the pasture. 

As we celebrate the good news of the Resurrection and its meaning to the world, I like to think the Boss sees and appreciates those of us who work the hidden and obscure parts of His pastures. It is easy to assume that our small contributions to the Kingdom are pretty unimportant, but the Boss doesn't think so.

Now it happened on the day of Resurrection that some faithful women went to the tomb to finish the burial rites that they had been unable to complete due to Sabbath laws when Jesus had been placed in the tomb. And of course, we all know what happened. They came to the tomb, found it empty, and heard the incredible news of Jesus having risen from the dead. They ran back to tell the disciples, some of whom came,saw as well and shared the news with the others.

But two followers of Jesus were not there. They had given up and left the city for the village of Emmaus before the news was proclaimed. They were heartbroken, devastated, and their faith was torn to shreds. But then, there were only two of them, so what did it matter in the big picture? Apparently it mattered a lot! For before Jesus appeared to the disciples in the Upper Room, He went after these "strays."

Big Mike was pleased that his mechanized cowboys brought in hundreds of the herd - but he was also grateful for his two old guys on horseback who brought in the 70-plus strays that had been missed. We may never be a Billy Graham and reach millions. We may never be famous celebrities, authors, or personalities capable of reaching thousands. But here and there we may reach a few folks that might have been missed along the way. And whether in Jerusalem or Emmaus, the Lord will be with us and whisper, " Well done, good and faithful servant." 

Be blessed and be a blessing.

Brother John

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The Rev. John Bruington is the retired pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Havre. He now lives in Colorado, but continues to write "Out Our Way." He can be reached for comment or dialogue at [email protected].