Palm Sunday, April 5th | as he had to, forward
Photo: quinelder
On the outskirts of Jerusalem
the donkey waited.
Not especially brave, or filled with understanding,
he stood and waited.
How horses, turned out into the meadow,
leap with delight!
How doves, released from their cages,
clatter away, splashed with sunlight.
But the donkey, tied to a tree as usual, waited.
Then he let himself be led away.
Then he let the stranger mount.
Never had he seen such crowds!
And I wonder if he at all imagined what was to happen.
Still, he was what he had always been: small, dark, obedient.
I hope, finally, he felt brave.
I hope, finally, he loved the man who rode so lightly upon him,
as he lifted one dusty hoof and stepped, as he had to, forward.
(“The Poet Thinks About the Donkey” by Mary Oliver)
Zechariah 9:9
9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Matthew 21:1-9
1 Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
Revelation 7:9-10
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Our Father, we so often feel inadequate for your service. Believing that you could never use someone as broken and as sinful as us, we turn to other masters in order to feel acclaim and satisfaction. We confess our love of the spotlight to you today and our running from you—the only One who truly knows us just as we are—in order to try and achieve fame and a sense of usefulness. Enable us, by the power of your Spirit, to turn from that which would distract us from humbly serving you. Give us the grace to put one foot in front of the other, ever moving forward, confident in your love. Most days we long to hear others shout our praises and revel in our attempts at glory. Turn our hearts in repentance this day back to your Son Jesus, that we would live in such a way that would direct shouts of praise to our Lord Jesus who sits on the throne, the One who loves us and gave himself for us. Amen.
(Prayer written by Jim Pulizzi)