Crying out for help

Earlier this week, I taught a group of amazing kids about the Greek play "The Suppliants" by Aeschylus. I love this play and the themes that it offers and I was excited to see how their minds so quickly grasped concepts and ran with them. I then held a debate with the class, with the men debating the point of view of the women and the women debating the point of view of the king. It was a fascinating experience!

But that is not why I am here. I am writing because a line from this play stuck a chord deep in my soul and I have to record my thoughts. In the play, moments after meeting the king and pleading with him to give them asylum from the horrible Egyptians who want to force them into marriages against their will, the women refer to themselves as follows:

"See me, the suppliant, the wandering fugitive, like a heifer chased by a wolf up the steep rocks, where, trusting to their protection, she lows loudly, letting the herdsman know of her peril."

This took my breath away. I had never considered that base instinct to cry out, loudly, for help when a life is on the line. Even humans, when faced with a deadly pursuer will often cry out even though this reveals their location to the pursuer, as well as to any rescuer.


This may seem like a stupid response but, at least in the case of the heifer, it is a response of deepest faith and trust. That is what struck me so powerfully. That faith and trust. If we focus our energies on what is wrong with us, on the negative voices from within and without, Satan wins. But if we focus our energies on crying out to God and on what we do have that is positive, we can make a difference. Of course, the heifer's lowing is heard by not only the herdsman, but also by the wolf who is pursuing her and yet still she lows, because of her faith that the herdsman will reach her before the wolf does. We need to learn from the heifer and have that kind of faith in God, even as Satan is snapping at our heels, trying to take advantage of our weak and frightened moments. We cannot choose to be faithless victims. We must choose to have faith in whatever higher power we choose to believe in. I have chosen to cry out a couple of times in the past few days and it has honestly made a huge difference. It is a risk but I am willing to take the gamble.