Because Someone Lent His Donkey…

Luke 19:28-40

Rev. Stephen H. Wilkins

Georgetown Presbyterian Church

April 1, 2007

It was Palm Sunday, but little Johnny didn’t go to church that day because of a sore throat, and his mother stayed home with him. When his dad and sisters came home from church later that day, they all had several palm branches in their hands. "What are the branches for?", asked Johnny. His older sister replied, "People waved them and put them on the ground in front of Jesus as he walked by." "Wouldn’t you know it," Johnny said, "the one Sunday I don’t go, Jesus shows up!"

Every once in a while, either because of the occasion being celebrated in the church year, or because of the choice of text from the Bible, the pastor is faced with multiple options in terms of which direction to take the sermon. Today presents one of those occasions. The truth is, Palm Sunday gives the preacher so many different options. Do I preach the traditional story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem? Do I focus on the excitement of the throngs of people, and the festive welcome that Jesus receives? And if so, do I focus on the irony that the same crowds that hailed Jesus as king today will cry for his crucifixion in just a few days? Do I focus on what it means to ascribe to Jesus the title of King and Savior?

Or, because technically today is also Passion Sunday, do I take you this morning down the road to Good Friday? Do we go ahead and focus on the cross today? I have mixed emotions about doing that, because I would like for us to journey together with Jesus through Maundy Thursday and Good Friday before we get to Easter next Sunday. But I realize that for some of you that is not possible, and so Palm Sunday may be the last time before Easter that you can hear the message of the cross. Anyway, that is not necessary this morning, because this afternoon we will be given an opportunity to hear a very moving interpretation of Jesus on the cross as the choir presents its concert on the seven last words of Jesus.

Today, I have chosen a somewhat different focus. I have chosen a detail that is mentioned in three of the four gospels, but is often overlooked. Yet without this detail, the entire procession that is so often our focus would not have taken place.

At the beginning of the story, Jesus gives some instructions to his disciples. He instructs them to go into Jerusalem ahead of him, and to find a colt (really, a donkey), that has never been ridden. He tells his disciples, "If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’ So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. As they were untying the [donkey], its owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying the [donkey]?’ They said, ‘The Lord needs it.’" Then they took the donkey, presumably because the owners agreed to let the Lord use it.

Without a donkey, the procession would not have taken place. Had the owners resisted the Lord’s request, then Palm Sunday as we know it would never have happened. It was crucial that Jesus enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey, because scripture had foretold that it must happen that way. In the gospel of John, we are told that Jesus "found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written [in Zechariah], ‘Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.’"

Without the permission of the owners of the donkey, the procession does not take place. Without the donkey, scripture is not fulfilled. It seems like such a small detail, yet the story of our salvation does not unfold according to scripture if that detail is omitted.

Do you think the owner of the donkey knew what hinged on his affirmative answer to the disciples? Do you think he had any idea that, had he denied the request of the disciples, there would be no parade, no triumphal entry into Jerusalem by Jesus?

I don’t think so.

I think the only consideration that the owner had to make was, how was he going to respond to the words, "The Lord needs it."

The Lord needs it…

There are two things that strike me about those words. The first is that we ought not ever – not EVER – believe that we can be of no use to the Lord. If Jesus can take a simple, ordinary donkey, and use it in his plan of redemption, don’t you think that Jesus can use you, as well? It’s a shame that in our world we limit the usefulness of people to a certain span of years, or to specific qualifications. But the truth is, our Lord does not call only those who are qualified to participate in his plan of redemption, but he does qualify those who are called. If the Lord can use a donkey as his preferred mode of transportation, don’t you think that he can use you as a part of his extraordinary plan for this world?

Paul Harvey is known for telling the rest of the story. He tells stories of obscure individuals whose lives didn’t seem significant to the ordinary observer—That is, until something extraordinary happens because of the obscure individual. It is the nondescript life led by the people in Harvey’s stories that makes the rest of the story so powerful.

The truth is, the Bible is full of simple, ordinary people, people with a questionable past, people that had been chewed up and tossed aside by the world in which they lived. Let’s consider a short list of some of the heroes of the Bible, and the ways the Bible describes them for us. Noah was a drunk, Isaac was a daydreamer, Jacob was a liar, Leah was ugly, Joseph was abused, Gideon was afraid, Samson was a long-haired hippie and a womanizer, Rahab was a prostitute, Ruth was a foreigner, Jeremiah was too young, Isaiah preached naked, Jonah ran away from God, John the Baptist ate bugs, Peter denied Christ, the Disciples ran away, Martha worried about everything, the Samaritan woman at the well was divorced (more than once), Zacchaeus was too small, Paul was a zealot against the disciples, and Lazarus was dead!

What a list! But they are people who nevertheless turn out to be pivotal heroes in the story of our faith. They become heroes of our faith because of what God does through them.

Don’t ever buy into the lie that the Lord can’t use you.

The second thing that comes to mind when I hear the words, "The Lord needs it," is that there is a response required. We don’t know anything about the owner of the donkey, except that he owned the donkey. But when he heard the words, "The Lord needs it," he did not hesitate to give to the Lord what the Lord needed. It is an example of humble obedience and anonymous discipleship. It is, in a marvelous way, an example of quiet, faithful stewardship.

You see, there are two sides to the words "The Lord needs…" The first is that the Lord can and will take the ordinary and accomplish extraordinary things. The second side lies in the heart of the person who hears those words. When you hear the words, "The Lord needs it," what do you do?

This past Tuesday I spent the day in Summerville at the annual board of advisors meeting of the Presbyterian Communities (formerly known as the Presbyterian Homes). It is a time when the people from the main office of the Presbyterian Communities report to the churches the ongoing ministry that is taking place at the various campuses around the state. I came away from the meeting impressed with the ways in which that organization is ministering to senior citizens in the name of the Lord. But even more, I came away in awe and with a deep sense of pride at the contribution that our Georgetown Presbyterian Church members who live at the Summerville home are making. Both Bob Glisson and Judy Williams gave presentations at the meeting. After the meeting the chaplain of the Summerville home, as well as several other staff members, came up to me and told me how great a contribution that all of our Georgetown members make to the life of the community. They sing in the choir and serve as liturgists in worship; they work in the store; they care for one another and they bring joy to those with whom they come in contact. They don’t just live there—they live for the Lord every hour of every day.

They are people who, even after seventy, eighty, ninety years, hear the words, "The Lord needs you," and they willingly give themselves to the Lord.

If you’ve come into the fellowship hall on Mondays during the past month, you would’ve witnessed several of our church members helping with the serving of meals for students in town to work with Habitat for Humanity during their spring breaks. They heard the call when Jane Terhune stood behind this pulpit and made a plea for helpers in the kitchen. They heard, "The Lord needs you," and they gave the Lord what the Lord needed.

Over the past several months I have worked with about eight people who visit our homebound members once or twice each month. And every time we serve communion during Sunday worship, teams of elders take communion into those same homes. It’s all done quietly, and you might not even know about it if I didn’t tell you. These people don’t go visit or serve communion because they want the recognition; they do it because they hear the words, "the Lord needs you," and they give the Lord what the Lord needs.

My friends, the work of the Lord is ongoing. As far as we’re concerned, the work of the Lord never ends. Today, the Lord needs you. And tomorrow. And the next day. And the next…

We’re here today because our Lord chose a donkey as his mode of transportation into the city that would crucify him. We’re here today because an anonymous owner of that donkey heard, "The Lord needs it," and so he gave the Lord what the Lord needed.

In the midst of the celebration of Palm Sunday, as we shout, "Hosanna, Save us!", as we consider what Jesus does for us on Maundy Thursday, and then on the Cross on Friday, and as we consider the hope that is born in us through Christ’s resurrection from the dead, let me suggest that you also consider what you can do for him.

The Lord needs you.

What do you think of that?