Title: You can learn a lot from a donkey
Place: Oakdale Church
Date: March 20, 2005 (Palm Sunday)
Subject: Palm Sunday – Celebration Sunday
Introduction
A few years ago the National Ad council began a running a new series of commercials to encourage people to buckle up. We all saw the two crash dummies in some funny situation being piled into a wall and the pieces of their dummy bodies being strewn all over the car. The buckle up banner would then flash with the voice saying, “You can learn a lot from a dummy. Buckle your safety belt.”
We’re going to change that just a little bit this morning but the idea is the same. Often times it is amazing what we can learn from unusual places or things, like learning to buckle up from a dummy. The proposition I would like to make this morning is that you can learn a lot from a Donkey.
Today is Palm Sunday the traditional day that we honor the triumphal entry that Jesus made into Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover with his disciples. We also know that this marks the beginning of the final week of Christ’s life as Christ would die on a cross and then rise to live again on Easter Sunday morning. For us as a church this also marks the end of our stewardship and holiness series that we have been working on over the past 10 weeks. So a lot is wrapped up in this Palm Sunday for us.
But here at the start of this week there is small figure that doesn’t get a whole lot of press in the Bible, unlike Peter, Paul, Moses, Abraham, Adam and many other hosts of Bible characters, this character only gets a few verses in each of the gospels and one verse in Old Testament prophet’s writing, Zechariah 9:9, such a small occurrence but such a big part to play. Who is this small character? He is a donkey and really we can learn a lot from a donkey.
Over the past 10 weeks we have been exploring the fact that we are called to holiness and a major part of holiness is that we are to be stewards of all that God has given us. Stewardship and Holiness leads us into the attitude or realization that all is God’s and while I enjoy it now, I will only enjoy it for a season and then it will be gone, then I will be gone. We are called to be holy and we are called to be stewards, in fact, we are called to be stewards of the very lives that we have been given to live and how we do this we can learn from a donkey.
As you study Jesus’ life he was a wise steward of his life. He knew full well his purpose that he was to die for our sins as the perfect sacrifice. His whole life was to come together in this one huge act of stewardship, the very breath that he breathed to live, the very life that he gave up on a cross was the ultimate act of stewardship and holiness. It was the pentacle of all it means to be holy.
To be holy simply means to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart soul and mind and to love thy neighbor as thyself. The ultimate expression of holiness came in this final act of stewardship for Jesus, the very giving of his life on a cross for our sins. Jesus was so in love with God that He knew there was no other way and he was not willing to try to find another way. He was so in love with his neighbor that he was willing to lay down his very life for our freedom. Jesus was a steward of his very life.
We are called to be like Christ, we are called to be stewards of our very lives and this morning, from a simple donkey, we are going to be challenged to do just that. You can learn a lot from a donkey.
Open in Prayer
I. The Donkey Was Available
As we read through this story the very first thing we see is that the donkey was available. He was not being used for another task, he was not preoccupied but he was available for Christ’s use.
I would like to read you a passage from the Old Testament about a young man who was available. I Samuel 3:1-14
When the voice of the Lord was rare why did Samuel get chosen? Because he was available! He was ready and soft at heart to hear and God spoke to him and continued to speak to him the rest of his life as he became one of, if not the biggest major prophet of the Old Testament.
So Samuel and the donkey were both available for God’s use. What about you? As we finish up our stewardship and holiness series this question begs to be answered, are you ready for God’s use. If God’s call comes upon your life are you ready to do it? If God calls you to surrender our life to Him, are you available, if God calls you to minister to a co-worker or neighbor are you ready to do it? If God calls you to begin a new work for the Lord, are you ready to do it? Guys, if God calls you to be the spiritual leader of your house, are ready to step up to the task?
We can learn a lot from a donkey. This little guy was available for Christ’s use, are you available for His use?
II. The Donkey was Willing
I don’t claim to know very much about large animals like horses and donkeys but having now having had our church donkey, affectionately known as “Donkey” for the past few years I’ve learned a few things about him. The one big thing I have learned is that “Donkey” has a will. If he decided he wants to do something or decided he doesn’t want to do something there is little I am going to be able to do to change his mind.
When we first got donkey I was giving my kids rides on his back and he didn’t seem to be bothered by that too much. We would walk around the kids thought it was a blast. But then I decided to put two of the kids together on his back and he didn’t like that idea. I’m not sure if it was they were too heavy together or because he didn’t like the feel of two bodies on his back. At that point, there was nothing I could do to get him to move.
The other episode was quite comical now that I look back on it although at the time I didn’t think it was so funny. Two Christmas Experiences ago Richard and I needed to move donkey from his pen to the back of the horse trailer so we could move some of the sheep around. So we tied a rope around his neck and began to lead him as we had done a few other times. I don’t know where he figured out he was free or what but he took off across the back yard. I was holding the rope being drug behind him trying to stop him and Richard was running after us both trying to catch us and hopefully stop him. All I could see running through my mind was a nice front page news story, “pastor let’s donkey escape in city”.
Well, I learned a few things about donkeys, they have wills. You know, there is a lot we can learn from a donkey. This donkey in story of the triumphal entry didn’t seem to cause any bother, didn’t seem to put up a fight but was willing to depart from his mother and give Jesus ride into Jerusalem. Amidst the shouting, yelling, and singing he quietly carried his precious occupant to where he wanted to go. He had a surrendered will.
How often do we come to God not with a surrendered will? We want our way, we want our rights, we want things done to serve us and satisfy us and when we come to spirituality, we also want it on our terms. We can learn a lot from a donkey. As the donkey came before Christ his will was surrendered. We too, need to come before Christ with a surrendered will. If we are to be accountable stewards of our very lives, our lives need to be surrendered to God. He is our master, and we are his servants.
III. The Donkey was preserved for the task (never been ridden)
It’s interesting two of the gospel accounts of this story mention that the colt had never been ridden; Jesus was his first passenger. This donkey was preserved for Jesus’ use. Could you imagine the stories this donkey could tell his friends? “Wow, my first passenger was Jesus. You should have been there, all the people spreading their cloaks on the ground before me, they were waving palm branching as they sang and shout, Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest! It was awesome.”
This donkey was preserved for Jesus. As we consider the very stewardship of our lives are we preserving ourselves for Jesus use? Paul states in Galatians 5:13 “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”
Many people live as slaves to their sinful nature. In the past 4 years I have been introduced to drug and alcohol addictions and it is amazing how enslaved people can become. I know from my own life that although I am living my best from God, sin is right there at the door step waiting to enslave me and if I give into it, it enslaves me. Paul’s words tell us that Christ has come to bring us freedom. We no longer have to be enslaved by sin. But once we are free we must preserve ourselves for God’s use, another words, we must use our freedom to flee from these things that can so easily enslave us.
If we are to be stewards of our very lives, are we preserving ourselves for God’s use. Are we staying away from things that can enslave us? Are we being careful about our actions, our speech, our motives, our attitudes so as to preserve ourselves for God’s use? Jesus stated that blessing and cursing can not come from the same mouth. If you tear people down with your words, you will not have opportunity to tell them the good new of Jesus Christ later on.
IV. The Donkey was ready for the task
The final lesson that we can learn from the donkey is that he was ready. It didn’t take a whole lot of time for these disciples to get the donkey and bring him to Jesus, the donkey was ready, waiting to be used. I like the imagery of this and it brings to mind the excitement either good or bad of children.
Have you ever been with a child and you were going to go to Valleyfair or take them on some special event or trip and they couldn’t wait to go. I remember every year at the end of the school year the teen group at our church (of which my parents were youth leaders) would take a trip to a major amusement park (Cedar Point was the park of choice). Beings my parents were the leaders I got to make this trip with the teens every year and I love amusement parks. I would dream about going for days. I would take last year’s pictures and pour over them to memorize every ride. I would get the park map and dream about riding the rides and which ones we would ride when. When the day came we would leave at 3 or 4 in the morning to get to the park at opening time and there was no way I could sleep on the ride over because I was so excited.
Then there was another trip that I had to take every now and then. It was to the doctor’s office. I hated the doctor’s office. Why, because that was the place you got shots and the doctor was not our friend. Usually what he prescribed was painful and then some meany old nurse would come in and jam a needle the size of the Eiffel tower into my arm and it would hurt. I would hide, I would run, I would drag my feet on having to go the doctor. I would do anything not to got there. In fact, we went to the doctor in a neighboring town called Argos and I even despised the town and hated the town because all I associated the town with was pain and misery.
We have probably all experienced the two different ways that children can react. This donkey that was to be used by Jesus also could have reacted two ways. He could be mad about it, stubborn in his will, unprepared and not wanting to be prepared for the task or he could be ready, chomping at the bit ready to go and take Jesus on his journey. We learn from the donkey that he was ready for the task and eager to take Jesus on his way.
We can learn a lot from a donkey! Are ready for Jesus is bringing to you? Are ready for the task that is at hand? Are you ready to do God’s will in your life?
Conclusion
What in the world does all this have to do with the Passion of Christ? Why did this event even take place? Why did Jesus use a donkey? Kings come riding into town on white stallions or big black horses built and trained for war. Not donkeys. Donkeys are slow, they can be stubborn, they are short. Kings don’t ride donkeys!
Well, most kings don’t. There is some very real significance to all the imagery of what took place on this day almost 2000 years ago. You have to remember, Jesus just raised Lazarus from the dead in the adjacent city of Bethany, some huge miracles were happening, and the people were now declaring their allegiance to a new king. They were tired of Roman rule, Jews were not meant to be subject to any other power. They were eagerly looking for a King who would come and set them free and lead them in civil war against their captors. And so here comes Jesus, that possible king, but he is not riding a stallion, he is on a donkey. He is coming humbling into the capital city, not to wage a physical war against kings and kingdoms but to wage a spiritual war and war that was decisively won as he hung on the cross and then rose from the gave, but a war that would rage on in skirmishes and battles right up today and to the end of time.
For many that war rages on. The battle of good and evil is still being fought in our hearts. The causalities are high. The costs are almost unbearable but through the smoke of the battle comes a king, not on a horse but on a donkey, a king that is gentle and king that is peaceful, a king that is loving. He comes to our hearts and offers us freedom and peace from the war.
All he asks is that we be available, that we be willing, that we be preserved for his use and prepared to serve Him. He offers us freedom from our captor that enslaves and mistreats, that cares not weather we live or die and he grants us peace, joy, and eternal happiness in his kingdom.
You can learn a lot from a donkey. As Jesus come riding on a donkey into our lives the very donkey is quite the example for us to reflect upon.
I think it is a riot that our church owns a donkey. How many churches do you know that owns a donkey? We are going to have a fun time after church with the kids giving donkey rides and hopefully with all the snow we won’t get too messy. As you leave this morning, say hi to Donkey. Give him a pet and remember you can learn a lot from a donkey.
