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Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass. On that day the Lord their God will save them for they are the flock of his people; for like the jewels of a crown they shall shine on his land. Yea, how good and how fair it shall be! Grain shall make the young men flourish, and new wine the maidens. (Zecharaiah 9:9, 16-17)
A gracious good day be yours, dear Friend! May God's rich blessings be upon you and yours is my prayer.
The Lectionary from where we get the recommended texts for the Christian year, runs in three cycles, A, B, and C. It is a wonderful and marvelous work of scholars who want as much of the Bible covered in preaching throughout the year. One of the weaknesses, in my opinion is the Sunday that we associate as Palm Sunday is also shared with Passion Sunday; meaning those churches that dare not open their sanctuaries for worship during the week for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, can cover the Good Friday verses on this Sunday. So, we have two verses given for the Palm part, and the rest of the verses cover the Passion part. We are blessed in this area, that most of the churches around us have different services to fully commemorate all that we know Jesus endured for our sake. Today's passage comes from the Old Testament book of Zechariah, a prophetic book that mentions the coming king of Israel.
The purpose of the prophesy shared is to bring rejoicing to a hurting people. Their decisions resulted in bad choices and bad consequences. They were thrown into war, many died, and many were carted off as prisoners of war. The black cloud of hopelessness and Godlessness came over the people of Israel. So, to hear the Lord say, "Rejoice greatly," is the shout of great joy that is coming through the Lord's actions. The Lord calls for the people to shout and praise the coming of the Lord's actions. The true king comes to Jerusalem and comes in a form not quite to the world's standards. A king on a donkey? Yet, righteous and victorious? A king in those parts of the world might have chosen an elephant, or a strong horse, or a majestic camel; Yet, the determination and will of a donkey rings loud that the king sent from God comes with a plan and a purpose; greater than the animal who carries Him, the king is king nonetheless.
In 1936, Spain was in the mist of a. bloody war that found brother fighting brother and the country was overrun with Communists. The Communists wanted especially to discredit and torture Catholic priests and those of holy orders. One priest, 34 years old, and only 11 years into his ordination, prayed daily, "Lord have mercy upon me your unworthy servant, I am no more than a mangy donkey, please have pity on me your mangy donkey." On a certain day, this priest found himself being confronted by an Communist assassin, and fearing he was about to meet his end here, a thuggish looking man came between the priest and his assassin and roughed up the assassin, who quickly left. As the priest went to thank this stranger, he heard the thuggish man approach him and hiss into his ear, "Mangy donkey, mangy donkey." The only one who knew his prayers was our Lord and so this thuggish man certainly was his guardian angel. It begs the question again, why a donkey?
Why not a donkey? The king has arrived in His own way and with His own purpose, bringing with Him the salvation of all God's people; guarded and saved like a shepherd does his flock. When we need help and salvation, we do not stop to wonder what sort of vehicle we will accept help from; we accept assistance in whatever form it appears. King Jesus rode into town just for you!
PRAYER: Loving Father, we celebrate Your thoughts and purposes. Though we have been conditioned to judge and process things like the world, we repent of that, and turn our hearts and minds towards You and Your ways. I pray that we might truly celebrate the significance of my king riding on a donkey to save us. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Announce the coming of the Lord with those still waiting!
Eradio Valverde
