The first person to respond was a young
woman sitting in the back row, who hardly ever said anything. "What spoke to me," she said,
"is that Jesus needed that little donkey.
I know you guys aren't aware of it, but I have not always felt all that
good about myself...kind-of like I don't have much to offer...kind-of
donkey-like... what could I possibly offer this King...but when I heard just
now that he had need of a little donkey, then the thought came to mind that he
just might have need of me, too...if a small beast of burden could be of use to
him, could help bear him, then surely I can too..." My friend Bass commented, “We could have
had prayer and dismissed that class right then!!!”
When I read that story, I knew I had the main idea for my Palm
Sunday sermon!
Luke 19:28–40 tells us that on the first
Palm Sunday long ago, Jesus was looking for a donkey. He sent some of his
disciples to get just the one he needed. He seemed to know right where that
particular donkey would be. He chose a donkey, a lowly beast of burden on which
to ride into Jerusalem that day.
Guess what? Jesus is still looking for
donkeys! Jesus is still looking for people who will carry him into
places where he is needed today.
If Jesus knew where that donkey was so long ago, I am encouraged to believe
that God also knows where to find me, indeed knows me by name, and you, and may
even have something useful for me to do and for you, too.
This is what Paul is saying in Philippians
2:
Let
the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the
form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be exploited, but
emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And
being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point
of death - even death on a cross... (vv.
5-8).
To have the same mind as Christ is to have
the mind and heart of a servant. It's to seek out ways that we might be donkeys
for Christ. It means humbling ourselves, engaging in deeds and words of
kindness and service whenever and wherever we can in his name. Being a servant
wasn’t beneath Jesus. How can it be beneath us? Because he humbled himself, God
exalted him. Jesus is Lord! Now he's looking for donkeys—persons like you and
me to bear him, to bring him and his message of love, the only hope for the
world, into the world.
He's still looking for donkeys.
One of my personal heroes—and one of the
remarkable "donkeys" of our time—was former Iowa Governor and U.S.
Senator Harold E. Hughes, from Ida Grove, Iowa (located close to Storm Lake,
the northwest Iowa town where I grew up). Even though Governor Hughes was sober
for mere than forty years, he always described himself as a "college
dropout and a drunk with a jail record." He was a highly visible and
much-loved and -respected force in the alcoholism and drug abuse field for
close to half a century.
Harold Hughes might not have been the
first alcoholic Senator but he was the first one that openly acknowledged that
he was a recovering alcoholic. Hughes is known as "The Father of the
NIAAA" and is memorialized with the NIAAA annual Harold Hughes Award.
After retiring from the Senate, Governor Hughes continued to work on behalf of
alcoholics and other addicted persons, founding four centers for alcoholism
treatment, among his many other accomplishments.
As a result of his own recovery, Governor
Hughes understood that many alcoholics were hidden within society, and he knew
that they could be helped. More important, Governor Hughes strongly believed
that alcoholics and drug addicts should be helped. Thus began his quest in 1969
to focus national attention on alcohol abuse and alcoholism. His associations
with researchers, clinicians, and recovering alcoholics in prominent national
positions helped him to convene an extraordinary coalition of individuals to
request that the Congress take action. His political acumen and his personal
tenacity in achieving and maintaining recovery helped him to convince a
reluctant public, who largely viewed alcoholism as a sin or sign of moral
weakness, that Congress had done the right thing. Four years later, Governor
Hughes' efforts resulted in the creation of what is now known as the National
Institute on Drug Abuse.
Today’s alcohol research programs, which
provide hope for people at risk for and affected by alcohol-related problems,
were born of Governor Hughes' vision for the future. According to an article
written about him in the May 1990 issue of Sober
Times, Governor Hughes' motto was "All things are possible." Many
alcoholics have recovered and many more have a chance for recovery because one
man, Harold Hughes, believed that "all things are possible."
Perhaps we can’t all be like Harold Hughes,
but we can be ready when Christ needs a donkey—when some need arises, some
ministry that we can take up in his name. We can be ready on a second's notice
to bear him and his love into our homes, churches, communities, and places of
work.
He's still looking for donkeys.
Once upon a time a small donkey woke early
in the morning. He was still thinking about the events of the day before. It
had been the most exciting day of his life. Never before had he felt such
pleasure and pride.
He walked into town and found a group of
people by a well. "I'll show myself to them," he thought.
"They'll recognize me." But they didn't notice him. They went on
drawing water and paid him no attention.
"Throw your garments down," he
said crossly. "Don't you know who I am?" They just looked at him in
amazement. Someone slapped him across the tail and ordered him to move.
"Miserable human beings!" he
muttered to himself. "I'll go to the marketplace. The people there will
surely remember me." But the same thing happened. No one paid any
attention to the donkey as he strutted down the main street in front of the
marketplace.
"The palm branches! Where are the
palm branches!" he shouted. "Yesterday, you threw palm
branches!" Confused and his feelings hurt, the small donkey returned home
to his mother.
"Foolish child," she said gently.
"Don't you realize that without him, you are just an ordinary
donkey?"
Joseph Bayly wrote a verse—a contemporary
psalm, if you will—for Palm Sunday:
King Jesus
why did you choose
a lowly donkey
to carry you
to ride in your parade?
Had you no friend
who owned a horse
-- a royal mount with spirit
fit for a king to ride?
Why choose a donkey
small unassuming
beast of burden
trained to plow
not carry kings
King Jesus
why did you choose
me
a lowly unimportant person
to bear you
in my world today?
I'm poor and unimportant
trained to work
not carry kings
--let alone the King of kings
and yet you've chosen me
to carry you in triumph
in this world's parade.
King Jesus
keep me small
so all may see
how great you are
keep me humble
so all may say
Blessed is he who cometh in the name
of the Lord
not what a great donkey he rides.
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