A STORY OF TWO DONKEYS

One day, many years ago, in Jerusalem there was a donkey and she had recently birthed a colt. 

This donkey was nothing special.  She had worked hard for her master at carrying loads and turning the style.  She had worked in the heat and had always been faithful to her owner. 

But while she was pregnant, she didn’t have to work quite so hard.  Then, her colt was born.  He looked just like his mommy.  He was now four months old and followed her everywhere she went. 

One day, when dawn broke, she thought that it was an unusually clear day.  When she got up, her colt immediately got up too. 

Soon, her owner came and took her toward the city;  of course, her colt followed right along with her.  When they came to a house, they stopped for a while. 

Eventually, two men came and talked with her owner.  After a brief conversation, these two men led her away from her owner.  She was surprised – this had never happened before.  But she relaxed when they allowed her colt to come along too.

As they came to the brow of the hill overlooking Jerusalem, there were more men and others gathered.  They all seemed very happy.  Then the two men led her to another man who had the kindest eyes she had ever known.  As she drew near to him, she felt a strange sense of being genuinely cared for. 

The two men who had brought her here threw their coats over her back and this new man climbed onto her back.  First, he had petted her colt and spoke kind words to it.  He was not heavy. 

This began the strangest journey she had ever made.  As she carried the man down the hill and toward Jerusalem, crowds of people gathered.  They laid their clothing on the road before her.  Then, they cut down branches from nearby trees and laid them before her too. 

It was noisy!  There were lots of children!  Children love parades!  Each time she checked, her colt followed closely behind her.  She felt so proud!  The people shouted things like:

Hosanna to the Son of David! 

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! 

Hosanna in the highest!

Before they entered the city, they came to a prominent spot where you could view the entire city.  The man slipped off of her and walked to the edge of the cliff.  The crowd grew quiet.  She heard him speak softly.  He said,

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem! You kill the prophets and stone the messengers God has sent you! How many times I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me!                                                              [Mt. 23:37 Good News Translation]

There were tears in his eyes!

She felt his pain.  She too loved her colt and loved having him close to her.  She nudged the colt with her nose.  He nudged her back and suckled during this brief break. 

Now the crowd was growing very large.  The noise magnified.  It was a joyful time!  She felt proud to be carrying this man.  The people obviously loved him and wanted to be close to him.  She was honored to be the one chosen to carry him.  

As they arrived at the temple, he dismounted and rubbed her head before moving away.  She watched as he was swallowed by the crowd.  Soon, her owner appeared and began leading her back to his home. 

As much as she respected her owner, there was something in her that made her just want to stay forever with this man who had ridden her into the city. 

Jesus our brother kind and good
Was humbly born in a stable of wood
And the friendly beasts around him stood
Jesus our brother kind and good

 

"I" said the donkey shaggy and brown
I carried his mother up hill and down
I carried him safely to Bethlehem town
"I" said the donkey shaggy and brown

[from "The Friendly Beasts" by Robert Davis]