I am nothing special. Up until yesterday, I had served no great purpose. I was simply a beast of burden, put to work day in and day out hauling my master’s wares back and forth from home to the city. It’s hard work, but that’s what we donkeys do- we carry things.
I was not working yesterday; I was tied to my master’s home, with my baby by my side, minding my own business. It was good to have a day of rest! Suddenly, out of nowhere, these two men appeared; they walked right up to me and my baby as if we belonged to them. My baby was frightened- he doesn’t really like strangers yet- he can be quite shy. I was perturbed- who did these men think they were? They started to untie me and my master came running out of the house; he seemed upset. “Stop!” he called out, waving his arms wildly. “What do you think you are doing? That’s my donkey!” The men seemed very calm. They said, “The Lord needs it.” My master seemed to relax; he shrugged his shoulders and went back into the house. I was upset! Who is this Lord? What could he possibly want with me? This was my day off, after all- I didn’t want to go work for a stranger! But I wanted didn’t matter- I am, after all, just a donkey.
The men untied me and led me away; thankfully they brought my baby too, who stuck by my side as if we were glued together. They led us out to a stand of trees, where there were more men, all of them strangers to me. One of the men was kind; he stroked my muzzle and ran his hands over my baby soothingly. He butted the man playfully and the man laughed. It was a beautiful laugh, but when I looked at his eyes they were sad. Some of his companions put their cloaks on my back; I had carried many loads of cloth in my day, but never actually worn any! My baby laughed at me and I shushed him; he needed to be on his best behavior, or the men might not let him stay with me while I worked. The gentle man climbed on to my back and I shifted my hooves under his weight. He was heavy, but it was nothing I hadn’t carried before. One of his companions took the rope from my halter in his hand and clucked at me to move; we began our journey.
I plodded along steadily, carefully watching where I put each hoof, feeling the weight of his body shift and sway along with my steps. I was paying so much attention to where I was walking that I barely noticed the group of people beginning to form around us. They seemed to come out of nowhere, and as we walked along they started shouting, “Hosanna!” As they shouted more people came, and as we drew closer and closer to the city the people began to cut palm branches from the trees, waving them excitedly and cheering. Some of the crowd ran ahead of us, and they took their cloaks and spread them on the ground. I tried to stop; I didn’t want to get their clothes dirty by stepping on them!- but the man urged me forward, and I had no choice but to walk on the cloth and palms that were being laid at my feet. My baby began to enjoy this attention; he pranced along as if he were a stallion, not a donkey, and I worried he would break away from me and get lost in the crowd. They were beginning to press against us, and I noticed that the man’s companions were forming a circle around us, keeping the crowd from swarming over us. “Hosanna in the highest!” they cried; the noise was deafening. “Hosanna to the Son of David!” Ah, I thought, so that’s who this is! I didn’t know David had a son…
We reached the city and now it was almost more than I could bear. People kept shouting, calling out, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” and “Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna!” Palms were waving, cloaks were being strewn on the ground, people were reaching out trying to touch him, trying to touch me- I kept my head down, uncomfortable with all this attention.
I am, after all, a humble donkey.
As we passed into the city and the crowd grew larger, more and more people came, but instead of praising the man, they looked worried. “Who is this?” The question rippled through the crowd, growing stronger and stronger as leaned out their windows or stood in their doorways to watch our procession into Jerusalem. “Who is this?”
And I began to wonder; who is this man that draws these people, who is treated like a king, who is exalted by the people but is riding on me, a donkey? Who is this man that makes the religious leaders look nervous, and makes the people look hopeful? Who is this man, and where am I taking him? What is his purpose at this time, in this place?
Finally my questions are answered; this is Jesus. Ah, yes- I have heard of this man. And now I wonder how I could not have recognized him. I have heard of this man Jesus; the people in the market would talk to my master about the wonderful things he had done, of what he teaching. I even heard he had made blind men see, and made lepers clean! I also heard that the religious leaders did not like him, even that they were hoping to trap him in his teaching in order to punish him.
And now I am worried.
I am worried because, once we were in the city, we went to the temple. The man climbed off my back and patted my head. His hand was warm on my neck; he thanked me for the ride. My baby pushed against him, seeking praise from this man who brought hope to the city. We watched as he entered the temple; I heard shouting, and the sound of tables being overturned. Birds flew out, free from their cages, and I thought, for a moment, if he had freed them, why couldn’t he free me too? But the one who was leading me took us away, out of the city, the cloaks and palms now trampled into the dirt, unsalvageable. I was so tired. We journeyed home, my baby and I, back to our master. The man left the cloak on my back, a souvenir from our journey.
I do not know what will happen to the kind man, but I little time to think about it. Perhaps I will find out the next time we go into the city. If we see him, will he remember me? Will the people recognize me? Probably not. I am, after all, only a donkey.
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