Why Did Jesus Ride a Donkey?
(Posted March 30. 2023)
“What man, if he were God, would humble himself to lie in the feedbox of a donkey or to hang upon a cross?”
--Martin Luther
I love Palm Sunday for a number of reasons but, honestly, most of all I love the smell of fresh palms that tell me that Spring has arrived.
Before the Pandemic all of us from local churches used to gather before our services with our palms, in the plaza in front of City Hall. That won’t happen this Palm Sunday. Instead, we at First Church will start our own parade inside, from the church’s front door up the center aisle, with song and praise.
Church Services on Sunday
In-Person Service begins at 10 a.m. Facemasks are optional if you are fully vaccinated.
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It will help us remember that first Palm Sunday the crowds entered Jerusalem, with shouts of “Hosanna!” --- Save us -- lifted up by the people in the street. But there will be one thing missing in our parade: The Donkey.
Why Did Jesus Ride a Donkey?
Modern people often wonder why Jesus insisted on riding a donkey through the main gates of Jerusalem, the most glorious city in all of Judea. After all, every other conquering hero and military general entered with an entourage of snorting white horses and chariots to the sound of trumpets.
The message was “we are powerful and in charge.”
But Jesus’s message was the exact opposite kind. By choosing the humble donkey, Jesus was saying, “I’m just like you – a son of God, a humble person whose power lies in the ability to love and serve others”
As Martin Luther’s quote above tells us, this was not the first time Jesus was close to a donkey. As a baby he lay in the manger from which the donkey and all animals got their sustenance. For this Palm Sunday, Jesus will furnish all of us with nourishment in the form of communion.
We’ll share more about the legend of the Palm Sunday donkey when we gather, palms in hand, in a few days.