lent day 38

Donkeys

Im pinching this from Mervyns sermon this morning.  Cos it was good and I'd never seen it before.

Matthew 21 New International Version (NIV)   

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King

21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

5 “Say to Daughter Zion,
    ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[a]

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna[b] to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[c]

“Hosanna[d] in the highest heaven!”

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

This morning, instead of drawing our attention to the usual things preached about from this passage, Mervyn focused in on the donkey.  And pointed out some details I had never thought about before.  Im not a horsey person, so I dont know an awful lot about how horses work, but I do know enough to realise that you dont just jump on the back of a young animal that has never been saddled or sat upon before.  But that is just what Jesus did.  He specifically asked for an unbroken, unbridled, unschooled young animal to ride.  Madness.  If you or I tried that we would be bucked off within a minute.

Why did He do that?   Yes, of course the entering Jerusalem on a donkey thing was to fulfil the prophecy about the Messiah.  But He could have chosen a mature animal used to carrying people.  I've been thinking about it all morning, since Mervyn pointed it out.  Mervyn commented that Jesus was coming as the Prince of Peace - and that His very presence on the back of the animal brought instant peace and calm.  He has authority over every living thing.  He is King of the universe and the wind and waves obey Him - so its not surprising that a donkey would obey Him too.   But I also wonder if Jesus wasnt showing us something else too.   He specialises in seeking out the young, unbroken rather wild ones and taming them.  The presence of Jesus can transform the most unlikely lives.   Here in Northern Ireland there are plenty of people who once upon a time were angry young men caught up in the ' troubles'.  Men of violence and bloodshed who met Jesus and were instantly calmed and transformed.  And who now carry His presence with them wherever they go.

Not only did this donkey carry Jesus as his first ever mount... he carried Him through crowds of cheering yelling people waving things about and throwing things down on the road in front of him.   When you think of the amount of training police horses have to undergo to be able to deal with crowd situations..... this poor donkey was ' thrown in the deep end'.  And yet he apparently simply walked on through the crowds unphased by the surrounding hulaballoo.   This is what Jesus can do for us too.   When we are faced with potentially scary, chaotic and unpredictable situations we have never faced before.  If we carry Jesus with us He navigates us through and His presence brings peace in the midst of it all.

And here is an afterthought.   If we carry Jesus with us maybe we too can have the effect on animals that He had.  I would love to think that my spirit might be so attuned to nature and so at one with that of the Creator that I could commune with animals in the way St Francis did :-)    Something to aim for perhaps?