Sunday, December 4, 2011

No Showy Needed

Readings: Zachariah 9:9-12; Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 21:1-9


The lowly donkey. The poor cousin of the majestic horse. In the equine world, the donkey is the country bumpkin. In a nutshell, the donkey exemplifies all that is under appreciated for its good works in the world.
But once in awhile, the lowly donkey has its moments. I've always thought that God sees something special in donkeys that the rest of us miss. Think about it--who brought the lovely Mary and the soon-to-be-delivered Christ child to the stable? Not a grand horse, but a donkey. In Matthew, Christ instructs for a donkey and its colt to be brought to him. "'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 being them to me. If anyone says anything to you, tell them that the Lord needs them and he will send them right away.' This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet" (21:3-4), the prophecy in Zachariah, "See your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey" (9:9).


But why a lowly donkey? Why not a fantastic while stallion? Because God doesn't do showy--we humans invented showy. With God, there's no need to show off. In fact, in Philippians, his words are "Who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equity with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness" (2:6-7). God sent us Christ as a helpless baby, not a magnificent jewel-robed leader on an over-sized throne. We are shown through this act of humility how we are to live while here. These words follow the wonderful theme throughout the Bible that the least shall be the greatest. A lowly donkey played an important part not once, but twice in the history of Christ's time here on Earth. And, in this loving gesture, it gives us all hope. We don't have to be high and mighty to be accepted and loved by God. We just need to live humbly before God, love him above all others, and above all things. And, just like those donkeys, by being true to ourselves, to others, and, most importantly, to God we will thrive. All creatures, great and small, are indeed beautiful in God's sight.


Peace be with you.

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