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April 1, 2023“The Donkey and the Lord”
Today, Palm Sunday, we Rejoice! Our Lord and Savior arrives in Jerusalem and triumphantly enters. "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey . . . “ Prophets like Zephaniah and Zachariah proclaim that this simple creature bears our Savior into Jerusalem. This unlikely servant, this beast of burden who has been ridiculed by its shortcomings – lazy, dumb, stubborn, annoying loud – yes, the donkey is used in service to God. In one of our Catholic translations of the Bible – the donkey is found approximately 140 times. The donkey is believed to carry Mary, Jesus’ mother, our Blessed Mother, while He was in the womb from Nazareth to Bethlehem where He was brought into the world and now 33 years later is the beast of burden that brings Him into Jerusalem. From the wood of the Manger to the wood of the Cross, the Donkey, was there.
Let us teach our children and our children’s children, that this humble creature becomes part of the Hope of the Prince of Peace, and bringing the fulfillment of Peace to the world on Palm Sunday. Since donkeys can have a lifespan from 15-45 years, perhaps the very animal that helped bring the Lord into this world at Bethlehem also brought Him into Jerusalem to save the world. Or, like John the Baptist and Jesus, perhaps these animals were cousins and members of the same family. Just maybe the one that carried the Blessed Mother and our infant Lord to Bethlehem is cousin to the one who bore Christ on Palm Sunday as he rode into Jerusalem. Or, just the God the Father and Jesus are father and son, perhaps the donkeys were related in the same way. Generation upon generation, we are taught by our parents to be Christ bearers to the world. Would it surprise us that the above of possibilities occurred as the Way of Our God? He may have chosen this simple humble servant, the donkey, within his ongoing plan of salvation. Pope Francis tells us that the path of salvation can be summed up by the two words – humility and service. From the wood of the manger to the wood of the cross, His plan of salvation unfolds before us. He uses all creation, He uses all of us, to love, serve and praise Him. Jesus is celebrated by humble creatures who know first hand the blessing of serving Christ. May we begin our journey of Holy Week, as humble servants of the Lord serving Our God on the way, on the path of our salvation.
Fr. John
