Recent Sermons
St. Andrew's Church
An Anglican Church • Grimsby, Ontario, Canada
Preached by
Stuart Pike
Rector
For More Information Contact the Office
Notice any errors? Have a suggestion? Or a comment? Then ....
Palm Sunday - What's the name of your donkey?
St. Andrew's Church, Grimsby
9 April, 2006
This Sunday at the main service we are hosting two live miniature donkeys, Charlie and Dusty. They will help us remember about Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus was greeted by a rag-tag group who were most likely pilgrims themselves going into the city of Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. They knew Jesus and many of them would have been his followers or disciples. They cut down palm branches to shake and rattle as they roared a loud and celebratory welcome. Many would have been from Galilee and would have been simple folk. When they laid their cloak on the ground in front of Jesus, it was their only cloak. "Hosanna", they cried, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest!" Can we imagine our exultant cries mingling with the crowd? Do we welcome Jesus as our King?
Jesus rode in on a donkey (the symbol of a peaceful King), rather than a horse (the symbol of a warrior King.) That donkey which was lent to Jesus was very important. What would have happened if the owners refused to lend that donkey?
Max Lucado reminds us that each of us has got a donkey that the Lord needs. Here is his reflection on using our donkey for the service of the Lord:
Sometimes I get the impression that God wants me to give him something and sometimes I don't give it because I don't know for sure, and then I feel bad because I've missed my chance. Other times I know he wants something but I don't give it because I'm too selfish. And other times, too few times, I hear him and I obey him and feel honored that a gift of mine would be used to carry Jesus to another place. And still other times I wonder if my little deeds today will make a difference in the long haul. Maybe you have those questions, too.
All of us have a donkey. You and I each have something in our lives, which, if given back to God, could, like the donkey, move Jesus and his story further down the road. Maybe you can sing or hug or program a computer or speak Swahili or write a check.
Whichever, that's your donkey.
Whichever, your donkey belongs to him. It really does belong to him. Your gifts are his and the donkey was his. The original wording of the instructions Jesus gave to his disciples is proof: "If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, you are to say, 'Its Lord is in need.'" [Max Lucado, And the Angels were Silent, p. 54]
So, what is the name of your donkey? The Lord has need of it.
It is so soon, after the grand welcoming that those joyful cries turn to angry and murderous cries of "Crucify!" I think it was, in part, because Jesus chose to ride that donkey instead of a horse. People wanted him to fix their lives: to give them the victory and the spoils in the here and now (People still do.) They don't want the message that Jesus gave (and still gives) that our victory is in changing our way to God's way of self-sacrifice and sharing and peace.
This Holy Week is an opportunity for you to find that way for yourself again and to follow Jesus even to the cross, for it is only by following Jesus, even to the cross and the tomb, that we can truly experience his Holy Easter of resurrection. I pray that we will all have the courage to enter into this Holy Week and follow Jesus in his way. Amen.
