Party Time

“Did you hear that?”

The stallion raised his  majestic head and listened. “I don’t hear anything.”

The Stallion had always made fun of my big floppy ears, but they allow me to hear voices up to 2 miles away. Did you know that about donkeys? We have excellent hearing.  A donkey is said to be able to hear another donkey's call from as far as 60 miles away in the desert! My mother told me it was because of my ears. Of course the stallion always makes fun of my ears, calling them floppy wings like a hurt a bird.

“Two men are coming and they’re looking for a ride for a king.”

The stallion began to prance inside his fence. “ if they’re looking for the ride for a king, and they’re certainly looking for me. I have carried on my back generals, leading politicians and even King’s.”

“Maybe, this time they will take me.”

“You, Christopher? That’s a laugh,”

“It could happen.”

“Yeah, when pigs fly. Kings don’t lead parades on the backs of donkeys. No, they will desire a glorious horse, a stallion, the more imposing, the better. You are neither glorious or imposing. You are pathetic.”

I turned away and mumbled, “I’ll bet he can’t hear from 60 miles away.”

The stallion strutted around like a peacock.

We waited, and waited, and waited.

“Have you and that Stallion been talking again?” my mother asked. “I told you to pay him no mind, God has a purpose for all his creatures, if you fulfill that purpose you have lived a great life.”

“Yeah, mom, but he gets to lead parades, all I can look forward to is carrying loads. If just once my load could be important.”

I took another bite of grass and though. One day I will be important, I don’t know how, but one day.

The two men came into view. The stallion was right, they walked straight toward him.

“That is what our master needs to lead the parade,” one of them said.

My heart sank. No me, not today, not ever. I dropped my head and started looking for nice morsel of food.

“Can you image him riding in spender, of the back of that steed. All of us accompanying. The people bowing down as we get near.

“The king is here, bow down,” they would say.

“But-” the other interjected.

“But people would take notice then.”

“You know that is not what the Master said. No.”

They walked past the stallion, and walked toward, mother and me.

“That is what we are looking for,” he said, “Lets untie them and getting going.”

They fiddled with the ropes.

“Wait a minute,” I complained, “You did not ask our master.”

‘Help,” I yelled, “I am being donkey-jacked.”

The stallion laughed, “They are mistaken, today is April the 5th. not April the first. They think it is April fools day. Taking a donkey to ride, it must be a joke on the master.”

My owner came running up, “What are you doing with my donkeys?”

“The Lord needs them,” was their only response.

“Okay,” my owner said.

“Okay?” I cried. “You don’t even know who these people are, or what they plan to do with us. And who is this, “Lord,” can you trust them? Really, they smell like fish.”

“God is in control, Christopher, relax,” mother said.

I returned to the farm a days later.

The stallion rushed over to the fence, “So what happened.”

“You would want to know, just a normal day in the life of a donkey.”

“Stop teasing me and tell me.” he insisted.

“I you really want to know?”

“We walked for two miles until we came to group of men. To my shock, they threw their coats over my back, and then they lifted the one named Jesus and put him on my back. It felt strange, I had carried loads before, seed, straw, but never a human.

My first impulse was for buck him off.”

“So did you,” the stallion asked.

“NO, for some strange reason, it felt right. Like this is why I was created.

We began our journey. Mother and I together. Jesus riding on my back. As we neared the city of Jerusalem, more and more people joined.

The people where shouting praise to God.

Children were running around our little caravan, waving palm branches.

I yelled a my mom, “This is amazing.”

She just smiled, I am not sure she heard me over the den of noise.

“It was that loud?”

“Yes, and one of people started a chant.

“BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Then some else joined in, soon they were all saying it, I tell you, it became almost a serenade.

It was so loud, I could not hear. Normally, I would have run away for the ruck, but, this time it was electrifying.”

The stallion was now moving about excitedly, “What happened next?”

“Well,” I said, dragging out the word for effect.

That’s when a leader of city came and rebuked Jesus.

“Why,” the stallion asked.

“He told Jesus to the tell the people to be silent.

Luke 19:40 But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”

As we came nearer to the city, Jesus began to cry. But I don’t know why.

“I do the stallion said. Didn’t you here they put him to death later that week. Maybe he knew it was coming.”

The stallion looked pensively at the ground.

“What are you musing about,” I asked.

“I have to ask, why did you pick you? After all I am a stallion. I lead in parades, why you.”

I smiled and said, “I heard two men talking about that, they said it had to be me.”

“You?” “Will if not me, another donkey.”

“A donkey, why?”

“Well, Prophet named Zechariah said.

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

“When did he say that?”

“Over five hundred years ago.”

“But why a donkey, why not a horse?”

“Like you said, horses are for Generals, and Kings, go out to war. They lead armies into battle. Jesus was a king, but a different kind of king. So instead of a mighty steed, he came on a donkey, because he did not come as a man of war, but a king of peace. So he replaced the war-horse, with a donkey, with me.”

“Well,” the stallion huffed. “I have had kings, and generals, and great men ride on my back, and not one of them has been crucified.”

I looked us and smiled, and said, “And not one of them has been raised from the dead. He is risen.”

“He is risen indeed.” my mother said from behind me.