This was given at both the Bayliss (IL) UMC & the New Salem (IL) UMC on April 13, 2003… Palm Sunday of that year! The Scripture is from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 11, verses 1-11.

       When people look at how I dress most assume that I must ride horses. And I do really enjoy riding when I get a chance. As I was growing up, my relatives close to Pittsfield always had at least one or two horses around whenever we would visit them. I recall one time in particular when, as a middle teenager, I was riding and went to cross a very steep ditch. The horse didn’t think much of the idea and threw me off over her head about halfway down. Everybody came running out of the house to see if I was alright, (I was) and then everybody proceeded to encourage me to get back on. You know what they say…if you don’t get back on right after a fall you never will. Apparently they didn’t know me very well! The only thing going through my head was… “Heavens YES, I’m going to get back on! No horse is going to throw ME and get away with it!”

       I recall another time, some years later, when we ‘rented’ some horses down at the campgrounds where my mother and her husband were members. My son was probably around six or seven, so they gave him a very tame old mare, but I chose the big stallion that was there for myself. The guide led our little column down various trails through the Missouri woods with me bringing up the rear of our procession so that I could keep an eye on everybody and make sure they were alright. However, the stallion that I was riding was used to being up front during these treks, and fidgeted and jumped and carried on the entire trip. But I had no trouble keeping him under control, and when we were finished, the handlers commented on my ability to keep him in rein.

       So if anyone ever asks me if I can ride a horse I give them a qualified YES. The qualifier is that I have never learned to gallop on a horse. That’s because I actually learned to ride on a donkey!

       ‘Cookie’ came with a farm that my Grandpa had bought close to Prairietown (Where ‘Holiday Shores’ is today…). We were told that she was actually a genuine Mexican burro, but most people called her a donkey. She was very old and arthritic when we got her, and that only got worse as the years went by. But at that, she could still move pretty good when she wanted to. When the Prairietown farm was sold to developers, Cookie was moved to the ‘home’ farm south of Hartford. It was there that I learned how to put a bridle on (when I could catch her!) and how to use your knee to knock the wind out of them as you cinch up the saddle. (For those who don’t know, horses, mules, and donkeys are prone to holding their breath as you draw up a saddle so that it won’t be so tight afterwards.) However, I just wasn’t big enough to make much of an impression on her with my knee, and I would sometimes be riding along when the saddle would start slipping sideways…with me still on it! I remember one time that after I was dismounted she took off running for her pasture. By the time she got there, the saddle was completely upside down under her stomach. That had to hurt! As I got older, I got to the point where I just wouldn’t mess with the saddle and rode bareback, even though she had a very sharp backbone ridge.

       While at the Hartford farm, my aunt had told us how Cookie would greet each morning with a good roll in the dust, then usually get off a really good bray at the rising sun, but none of us had ever seen or heard it. As grandpa began scaling back the farm at Hartford we bought our twenty-three acres close to Edwardsville, and Cookie was brought out to spend the rest of her days there. We turned her loose in with the cows, and the first thing that she did was stampede them all through the fence at the rear of our property. After rounding them back up and mending the fence, Cookie was put into the pasture next to the house…by her self! That next morning, sometime before 6:00 AM, we were all awakened by the most horrendous noise that you could ever imagine! Slowly, I realized what it had to be! Rushing to the back door to look out at the pasture, we all saw…Cookie…braying!! Have you ever heard a donkey bray? They don’t go ‘hee-haw’. They go ‘haw-hee’. Actually they go…(YES, I BRAYED!) Believe it or not, after a while we all got used to her antics and would usually sleep right through them.

       Along with taking care of her daily needs, every once in a while, I would get out the bridle and ‘try’ to go for a ride. The key word here, usually, was ‘try’! People always talk about mules being stubborn. Well, I’m here to tell you that they get it from the donkey side of their parentage! We might get a mile down the road or so and she would decide that that was enough. She would just up and stop, and nothing that I could do would get her to move…period. I would finally end up walking back to the farm and get a tractor. When I returned, she would still be standing in the same exact spot, and I would tie the reins to the drawbar and pull her back home…slowly of course. So, you see, I never learned to gallop. Indeed, with Cookie, I sometimes did more walking than riding…but I did learn to ride!

       Now, I’m sorry to say that I haven’t had an opportunity to ride a horse for some years now. And if the truth be known, most of my interest in horsepower has been HORSEPOWER! Even as a teenager I always claimed that given an opportunity to run a ‘Cat’ or go on a date, the choice would be a very difficult one. (It would probably depend on the girl.) But there is no denying that sitting up on a good horse gives one a feeling unlike anything else. A horse is a magnificent creature, and anyone lucky enough to be seen on one usually has some of that magnificence rub off on them as well.

       Throughout the years, horses have been seen as noble creatures and symbols of power. So why, exactly, didn’t Jesus want a horse to ride into Jerusalem? Why, instead, did He choose a donkey? To understand that, we need to understand a little bit about the society and customs of the day…as well as a bit of Bible history.

The Wycliffe Bible Commentary tells that…the ass was a lowly beast, and no Jewish king since Solomon had ridden upon one officially. But meekness and lowliness were earmarks of (the) Messiah predicted by Zechariah, and now fulfilled.

And I’m sure that many people have always felt that that was the main reason…that Jesus wanted to emphasize His humbleness.

However, Barnes’ Notes points out that… In Judea there were few horses, and those were chiefly used in war. To ride on a horse was sometimes an emblem of war… on a mule (or a donkey), an emblem of peace. Kings and princes commonly rode on them in times of peace, and it is mentioned as a mark of rank and dignity to ride in that manner. So Solomon, when he was inaugurated as king, rode on a “mule”. Riding in this manner, then, was not a sign of poverty or degradation, but was an appropriate way for a king to ride… and therefore, an appropriate way for the King of Zion to enter into his capital, the city of Jerusalem!

So here we find a picture of Jesus triumphantly riding into Jerusalem, not on a warhorse as many had hoped for…but on a donkey…a symbol of peace! And furthermore, it was a colt! This was to fulfill the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9

See, your king comes to you,

righteous and having salvation,

gentle and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Mark and Luke only talk about the colt, because it was this on which Jesus rode. However, Matthew tells us that both mother and colt were brought. One of my sources points out that this may have been to keep the young colt calm, which would certainly make sense to me. Since the unbroken colt would not have had any kind of saddle, the disciples threw their cloaks over it for Jesus to sit on. Then, it was on to Jerusalem!

Let me read this from the ‘Life Application Commentary’.

Crowds of people had already gathered on this stretch of road a mile outside of Jerusalem, going to the city for the Feast of Unleavened Bread and Passover.

This was not a little group of people along the wayside; this crowd was characterized as “multitudes.” The people lined the road, praising God, waving branches, and throwing their cloaks in front of the colt as it passed before them. (Many) knew that Jesus was intentionally fulfilling prophecy. This verse is one of the few places where the Gospels record that Jesus’ glory was recognized on earth.

This was the crowd’s acclamation… that he was indeed the long-awaited Messiah. The people were sure their liberation from Rome was at hand. When it became apparent that Jesus was not going to fulfill those hopes, many people would turn against him. A similar crowd would cry out, “Crucify him!” when Jesus stood on trial only a few days later.

How fickle is man? From the beginning of time mankind has chosen to accept or reject God according to whether or not it seemed convenient at the time. And here is the ultimate example…the cheering of Jesus as the Messiah into the Holy city…only to be replaced with the jeers as He went to the cross soon afterward. And you know what? Two thousand years have not changed a thing! When this country was attacked on September 11 of 2001 and all of the various things that have occurred since, many people have been trying to find their way back to God. And that’s great! But you and I both know that, unless someone is really able to reach out to them and help them build a real understanding and acceptance of God, as soon as things begin to settle back into a routine most of these people drift away again.

And what about us? Here we are on what we call ‘Palm Sunday’, celebrating the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem two thousand-odd years ago. But what will we be celebrating tomorrow? Or Tuesday? Or next week? Will we hold firm to our belief and our joy in the Son of God? Or will WE begin backsliding into the everyday world around us?

Maybe I’m a little luckier than some people…my experience with riding a donkey as a child gives me some connection that I can relate to in the Gospel story, albeit a very minute one. But the truth is everyone of you, every member of your family, every one of your friends and coworkers, indeed every person on this earth has a direct connection if they would just open up to it!

Let me read this ‘bit’ I got in my e-mail some years ago…

The man whispered, “God, speak to me”…and a meadowlark sang.

But the man did not hear.

So the man yelled, “GOD, SPEAK TO ME!”…and thunder rolled across the sky.

But the man did not listen.

The man looked around and said, “God, let me see you”…and a star shone brightly.

But the man did not see.

And the man shouted, “GOD, SHOW ME A MIRICLE!”…and a life was born.

But the man did not notice.

So the man cried out in despair, “Touch me God, and let me know you are here”…whereupon God reached down and touched the man.

But the man brushed the butterfly away and walked on.

God is in our lives everyday. He reaches out to us everyday. He’s with us as we sleep, when we wake, as we work and play, and as we prepare for sleep yet again. Is it really so much to ask to let Him be a part of lives on a Monday or Tuesday as well as a Sunday? After all, remember what He did for us…He sent His Son to die on the cross of Calvary in our place. Then raised Him from the tomb to show the world that we can all conquer death and live in eternal Paradise with Him in the place prepared. I don’t know about you, but I feel like shouting Hosanna!