When I was a young boy, I loved riding horses. My best friend Danny Brocca and I would catch a bus on Saturdays and ride about an hour out of town to the little village of Mendiolasa in the hills of Córdoba where we would rent horses for the day and ride through the countryside until evening. (Before I even owned my first home, I owned a couple of horses.)
Perhaps it was this love of horses that prompted my father to ask me one evening after Danny and I had returned from riding if I knew what Roman horseback racing was.
“I’m not sure,” was my reply, not wishing to sound completely ignorant with a blatant “Nope.”
“Well,” my father explained, “Roman horse racing is one of the older forms of racing. In Roman horse racing, the rider stands on top of two horses, with one foot on each horse and races in circles around a large arena.”
“Sounds scary,” I commented.
Perhaps it was this love of horses that prompted my father to ask me one evening after Danny and I had returned from riding if I knew what Roman horseback racing was.
“I’m not sure,” was my reply, not wishing to sound completely ignorant with a blatant “Nope.”
“Well,” my father explained, “Roman horse racing is one of the older forms of racing. In Roman horse racing, the rider stands on top of two horses, with one foot on each horse and races in circles around a large arena.”
“Sounds scary,” I commented.
“The real danger of riding two horses at once,” my father continued, “is when the horses start to move apart from each other. The rider must be very skilled at keeping the horses together and the horses must be controlled, and comfortable running alongside each other. If the horses move apart, the rider must jump onto the back of one horse or the other. Otherwise, he risks falling and being trampled by the horses coming up behind him.”
And then my father taught me this lesson:
“Right now, the Church of Jesus Christ and the world are like two horses racing side-by-side. For the most part, the world is following a course similar in many respects to the Church. The world's values, in part at least, mirror the values of the Church. This is going to change. In the years to come, you are going to witness the world as a whole begin a massive movement away from the principles of righteousness. The Church will not deviate from its course and consequently these two ‘horses’ will continue to distance themselves from each other.
And then my father taught me this lesson:
“Right now, the Church of Jesus Christ and the world are like two horses racing side-by-side. For the most part, the world is following a course similar in many respects to the Church. The world's values, in part at least, mirror the values of the Church. This is going to change. In the years to come, you are going to witness the world as a whole begin a massive movement away from the principles of righteousness. The Church will not deviate from its course and consequently these two ‘horses’ will continue to distance themselves from each other.
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“The thing is, son, you are the Roman rider in this race. Right now, you can keep one foot in the world and one foot in the Church and if you’re very careful, you won’t fall. But as the race continues, these two horses are going to move farther apart. It’s soon going to be impossible for you to stay on both horses. To not be trampled and crushed, you’re going to have to jump onto the back of one horse or the other.” Here he put his hand on my shoulder and looked directly into my eyes. “When that time comes, son, be certain you choose the right horse to stay on.” |
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