Comedian Henny Youngman was famous for his line, “Take my wife…please!” If you did, however, you would violate the Tenth Commandment, “Thou shall not covet thou neighbor’s wife…” The Lord doesn’t joke about covetousness. Feel free to laugh at Youngman’s humorous one-liners but remember not to crave or desire anything in excessive or improper ways.
I invite you to look at the last of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:17). The neighbor’s no-no’s for desire beyond other’s spouses are interesting. One included possession worth noting is a donkey. I’ll leave the comedic one-liner on that to others.
The mention of a donkey, though, demonstrates the animal’s importance in Biblical times. They were used as a common source of transportation and as a means of determining someone’s wealth. Job’s holdings included 500 donkeys which he doubled after his restoration. Abraham’s donkeys were considered an indication of his financial status.
There are two notable stories in the Bible about donkeys. The first is Balaam’s talking donkey and the angel (Numbers 22:22-31). The second is Jesus riding upon a donkey for his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. We will hear that story this weekend on Palm Sunday.
You may know about the legend of a donkey’s cross. Donkeys have a dark line starting between the ears and running down the spine to the tip of the tail, with another intersecting horizontally between the shoulders. Folklore tells us that the donkey that carried Jesus into Jerusalem stayed with him and stood at a distance from the crucifixion. Jesus looked down at the donkey and cast the shadow of the cross on the loyal beast as a reminder of our Lord’s love and compassion.
This Sunday, March 28th, we will have two donkey guests, Noah and Luis, join us between our 9:15 AM (indoors) or 10:30 AM (outdoor drive-in) half-hour worship services. Please join us and see the cross marks on our special guests. Celebrate Palm Sunday and observe the Passion of Our Lord with us.