Unbelievable Palm Sunday
He couldn't believe it, Just a few days earlier people had been cheering for him and singing and dancing as he walked down this same road. So great was the noise that it thundered and the city officials had thought that it was a riot breaking out only to find out that it was a joyous celebration! What was perhaps not very clear from the onset was why people were so happy and why they were suddenly celebrating with such pomp and ceremony!
It was the week of the Passover and yes people were in a celebratory mode but this kind of excitement was not usual. Someone or something must have stirred their excitement!
Colt thought he knew what it was, It was obviously him! This was the first time that anyone had ridden him and his mother had always remarked what a fine young donkey he was. Surely the people were celebrating his remarkable form, He was after all a fine donkey. The humans must have been so taken by the beauty of his long majestic ears and his fine elegant and muscular limbs that they broke out in song and in praises. They wouldn't even let him step on the dusty ground, they placed palm branches on the ground and some even took off their cloaks and laid them on the dusty ground creating a carpet for him to walk on as he entered the gates of Jerusalem!
Amazing!! Who would have thought the humans would be so taken by his magnificence, BUT obviously His Mum was right all along, he was after all such a fine donkey and this was only the beginning of his rise to prominence as the most coveted & praised donkey of all time!!!
But today, just a few days after the great triumphant entry into Jerusalem, something must have gone wrong because as young Colt walked down the same road he could not understand why not even a single person paid attention to him except the grumpy old guy who was on his back. He seemed annoyed though and was complaining about Colt's speed all the time. Colt didn't understand where he was going wrong! He was walking at the same speed and with the same majestic poise as had when that man called Jesus had sat on him only a few days earlier when people had broken out into song.
Suddenly it dawned on him as he remembered that kind man, Jesus was his name!!! The one who had ridden him and was the first one to ever ride him. His long jaw dropped and he gasped... Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, It had all been about Jesus on that day ... Oh how foolish he had been he had felt like such a Hero on that day, but only now was he seeing that the real hero was Jesus, He had just managed to share in the excitement of being the donkey Jesus had chosen to ride. Most likely Jesus had chosen him because he was the only donkey that was available that day and not because he was as magnificent as he had thought he was. His availability to be utilised had brought him to a momentary place of fame.
The Power of Availability
Whenever I think about Palm Sunday from the perspective of the young donkey who shared in Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem on that day.
It makes me think of how I get to serve God in different ways either in praying for people or teaching God's word. I think of the times that people acknowledge miracles or God's answers as I serve them. I can often begin to think that I have such an amazing gift and mistakenly recognise my serving instead of understanding and seeing that Jesus is the one who is impacting people through my availability to serve.
Serving with humility requires us to always have the perspective that Jesus is a the centre of all that we do. We get to serve and share in the power of Jesus bringing transformation and miracles to people's lives. We should never mistaken the glory of our service to belong to us because all praises due belong to God almighty who so empowers us to serve.
Palm Sunday is a day to remember how Jesus is the King of Kings that came to save us because only he could save us! It is also a sobering moment to know that God wants to use us to transform the world in amazing ways, but we should never mistaken our abilities to be the highlight of how God uses us. It is our availability that God uses to bring glory to himself and blessings flow to us through those moments.
Scripture Meditation
'God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies.
Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. '
Written by Advocate Chikwati (c) ViewChurch2022