Weekly Bulletin - 14 April 2019
What different story would we be telling today if the unnamed owners of the donkey had refused to give it up? Maybe we would have no story of the triumphal entry, at least not in the way Jesus wanted it. No matter how unknown a person is, he or she can still play a crucial role in the unfolding of God's plan. The Lord needs each one of us as he needed the unnamed owners of the donkey in the reading.
A donkey was a very big thing in those days. The donkey was the equivalent of a car, a truck and a tractor all in one.
It was a car because people used it to move around and do their shopping,
a truck because it was used to carry load,
and a tractor because it was used in cultivating the land.
I am quite certain that God wants me to give him something and sometimes:
I don't give it because I don't know for sure, and then I feel bad because I've missed my chance.
Other times I know he wants something but I don't give it because I'm too selfish.
And other times, I hear him and I obey him and feel honored that a gift of mine would be used to carry Jesus to another place.
And still other times I wonder if my little deeds today will make a difference in the long haul.
All of us have a donkey. You and I each have something in our lives, which, if given back to God, could, like the donkey, move Jesus and his story further down the road. Maybe you can sing or hug or program a computer or speak nicely or write a cheque. Whichever, that's your donkey. Whichever, your donkey belongs to him. It really does belong to him. Your gifts are his and the donkey was his. The original wording of the instructions Jesus gave to his disciples is proof: "If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkeys, you are to say, 'Its Lord is in need.'" So, what is the name of your donkey? The Lord has need of it.
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