The Parable of the Buffalo

As she listens to someone share details from a recent vacation, Jen Scheuermann realizes God is speaking to her through a modern-day parable. 

The vacation that might not have happened. 

“South Dakota?! What brought you there?”   

The patient before me smiled, “Well, my husband has always wanted to see Mount Rushmore, but one day he decided to stop thinking about it and actually plan the trip. So we went!” 

If I’m honest, my first thought was about the weather. Still May, it was already 90 degrees in New Orleans. It had to be cooler in South Dakota! But I soon realized God wanted me to think of something more … 

“Did you have fun?” I asked. “Oh, yes!” she replied. And then, she told me about the buffalo.  

Every parable tells a story that is taken from everyday life, yet wants to tell us something more, to refer us to a deeper meaning. (Pope Leo XIV, General Audience May 21, 2025) 

The buffalo that might not have been seen. 

During their trip, my patient and her husband visited a wildlife refuge. “I’m so glad we had a tour guide!” my patient exclaimed, recalling how their private guide had navigated the curvy mountain roads with ease. “I don’t think we would have driven that far without her, and we definitely wouldn’t have gone that fast. She even talked as she drove on those winding roads!”

The tour guide, along with my patient and her husband, were trying to see the buffalo that roam free in that area. They hoped to get close to one, but after a while it seemed their search would be unsuccessful. “It would have been okay to not see one,” said my patient, recalling her thoughts from the trip. “After all, we had seen them far off, in the distance, and that was closer than we’d ever been to a buffalo before the trip.”   

But while my patient told herself she didn’t need to get closer to the buffalo, the tour guide persisted, turning off the paved road and onto a dirt path — a dirt path that soon brought them up close to a massive buffalo. “It was an amazing experience! And the buffalo was huge!” she exclaimed, a smile spreading across her face as she relived the memory.   

The invitation that was almost missed. 

As I listened to my patient speak, I sensed it: a barely perceptible tug from deep within. A tug so faint, I could have easily missed it, and for many years I suspect I did. But this time I did not. And as I paid closer attention, I realized God was trying to get my attention. He was extending an invitation.  

The parable raises questions in us; it invites us not to stop at appearances. Before the story that is told or the image that is presented to me, I can ask myself: where am I in this story? What does this image say to my life? (Pope Leo XIV)

The hope that almost wasn’t. 

Reflecting on my patient’s vacation story I wondered: How often do I settle on what I have because I’m afraid to get out of the driver’s seat? How often am I willing to let God drive, but when the road gets too steep or too long, I’m ready to get out of the car? How often do I stay on the safer, well-paved road, never considering the less traveled side-path? How often do I tell myself to look on the bright side as I convince myself that I don’t want what I really do, all to avoid disappointment? And how often do I ignore the deep desires of my heart, failing to bring them to the Lord because it seems safer? Or worse yet, how often do I give up hope altogether because I’m protecting my heart? 

The term “parable” comes from the Greek verb paraballein, which means to throw in front of. The parable throws before me a word that provokes me and prompts me to question myself. (Pope Leo XIV)  

 
Pause for a minute and look in your heart. Could it be that God wants the parable of the buffalo to raise questions in your life, too?

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Copyright 2025 Jennifer Scheuermann
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