What Are You Doing with the Donkey?
[Mark 11:1-11]
K Karpen, April 9, 2006
Palm Sunday
[Mark 11:1-11, “What Are You Doing with the Donkey?” K Karpen, Palm Sunday, 4/9/06]
“Then Jesus entered Jerusalem…and when he had looked around at everything he
went out to Bethany with the disciples because it was already late.”
The idea of having a live donkey join us for Palm Sunday brought out a variety of
reactions, ranging from laughter to stunned disbelief. Many of the first comments,
from members & non-members alike, were focused on the fate of the carpet at the
hands of the donkey. Some of the other comments were questions about who was
going to ride the donkey—“Do we have skilled donkey riders in the congregation?”
Or, “What are you going to do with the donkey?” “Do we have a donkey permit?”
Some of the questions showed real concern for the donkey: What’s its name? Is it
brown, gray, mottled? Is it a city-bred donkey? How is it going to like the streets of
New York?
My favorite comment, though, came from the rector of St. Ignatius, the church next
door. Since, for countless decades, our congregations have started Palm Sunday
together at Riverside Park for a blessing of the palms, I decided I’d better give Father
Hitchcock a heads-up. So I called him. I told him about the donkey. He was silent—
for a long time. And then he spoke with a confidence I know he did not feel. He
said, “I know you’re joking.”
Now, a donkey was a far more common sight in first-century Jerusalem than 21stcentury
New York. But still, the procurement process for a donkey for Jesus to ride
elicits a similar kind of question. Jesus tells 2 disciples where they can find a donkey:
in the village up ahead, tied to a door, on the street, outside, where donkeys belong.
They have traveled together by foot as far as Bethany, where Jesus’ good friends Mary
and Martha live. But it’s been a long trip. They’ve walked a long way. Matthew’s
gospel tells us that Jesus rides a donkey to fulfill the Messianic predictions of the
prophet Zechariah: “Look, Jerusalem, your king is coming to you, humble, and
mounted on a donkey.”
Mark doesn’t go there so explicitly when he tells the story. Mark’s message is a little
different. Jesus knows what he needs. He knows where it can be found. He needs
some help getting it. He knows how people are going to react. He knows that time is
short because, as Mark puts it at the end of the passage, it is already late.
First, Jesus knows what he needs. He needs to get to Jerusalem. He knows that his
destiny, his mission, his life’s goal, will happen in Jerusalem. Whatever he is going to
do will disturb the people in charge, and the people in charge are in Jerusalem. He
[Mark 11:1-11, “What Are You Doing with the Donkey?” K Karpen, Palm Sunday, 4/9/06]
needs to disturb Jerusalem. He needs to upset Jerusalem. As the old song puts it, he
needs to rock Jerusalem. But to get to Jerusalem, he needs some transportation. He
needs some car fare. He needs something very practical. He needs a donkey.
Second, according to Mark, Jesus knows where what he needs can be found. He
knows that the means to the end he desires, the end God desires, is as close as the next
village. I don’t know. Maybe he has some kind of special insight. Maybe he’s been to
that village before. Maybe there’s always a donkey parked on the street or next to the
door. But he knows where what he needs can be found.
Third, he needs a little help getting what he needs. He doesn’t fetch it himself. That’s
why he has disciples! They fetch it. No disciples, no donkey. Jesus needs them! Jesus
needs us.
Fourth, Jesus knows how people are going to react. He knows what those bystanders
are going to say before they say it. They’re going to ask, “Hey. What are you doing
with the donkey?” And that’s what they ask. How does he know? Jesus knows
people. Jesus knows us. He also knows how people will react when he rides to
Jerusalem. He knows he’s the flavor of the month. He knows he’s almost famous.
He knows he’s a finalist on Jerusalem Idol. Does he seek it? No. Does he enjoy it? I
don’t know. Does he count on fame to continue and carry him through? Definitely
not. He knows us. He knows us too well.
Fifth, and finally, he knows it’s already late. Friends, you and I know it’s already late.
I’m not talking about the time. I’m not talking about donkey-inspired delays causing
a shift in brunch plans. But you and I can look around. It’s already late. It’s already
the future, and the future is not in our hands.
We can look around like Jesus in Jerusalem, and we realize, it’s already late. It’s like it
says in Jeremiah. “The harvest is over, the season has passed, and we are not saved.”
It’s late! And each day it feels like it’s getting later. The things we all care about, the
possibility of peace, the ending of hunger and disease, the closing of borders, the
plight of our poor planet. It’s late! We’re in the future, and the future is not in our
hands. The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is beyond our vision.
The good news is, the future is in God’s hands. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t get
out of bed in the morning. Because it’s already so late.
[Mark 11:1-11, “What Are You Doing with the Donkey?” K Karpen, Palm Sunday, 4/9/06]
Friends, Jesus knows what he needs. And he needs us. He needs us to fetch the
donkey. Because we all have some kind of donkey we can fetch. He needs us to carry
the good news. He needs us to speak the truth. Trouble the temple. He needs us to
rock Jerusalem.
O Mary, O Martha, O Mary, ring dem bells. I hear archangels a rockin’ Jerusalem, I
hear archangels a ringin’ dem bells. [repeat]
1. Church getting’ higher! Rockin’ Jerusalem! Church gettin’ higher! Ringin
dem bells.
2. Listen to the lambs! Listen to the lambs!
3. New Jerusalem! New Jerusalem!