Hopes for the Donkey and You

 Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!  Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey…

 Dear Readers, as you approach your Palm Sunday and Holy Week,  I am hoping for you as the poet hopes for the donkey.  Be brave. Trust Jesus. Serve Jesus. Love Jesus.

 The Poet Thinks About The Donkey by Mary Oliver

                On the outskirts of Jerusalem

the donkey waited.
Not especially brave, or filled with understanding,
he stood and waited.

How horses, turned out into the meadow,
   leap with delight!
How doves, released from their cages,
   clatter away, splashed with sunlight.

But the donkey, tied to a tree as usual, waited.
Then he let himself be led away.
Then he let the stranger mount.

Never had he seen such crowds!
And I wonder if he at all imagined what was to happen.
Still, he was what he had always been: small, dark, obedient.

I hope, finally, he felt brave.
I hope, finally, he loved the man who rode so lightly upon him,
as he lifted one dusty hoof and stepped, as he had to, forward.

An Aroma Pleasing to God

 Numbers 28:24 In this way present the food offering every day for seven days as an aroma pleasing to the Lord….

 2 Corinthians 2:15 For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.

 Name an aroma or two that is pleasing to you. What does just the thought of that aroma trigger in your mind?

 What aromas awaken in our minds pleasing memories and an invitation to all whose senses are awakened by them?  Buttered popcorn, freshly baked bread, a baby’s powdered skin, a brat fry.

 The aromas of Israel’s food sacrifices were ‘pleasing to the Lord.’ because they were acts of obedient worship.

 Christ’s obedient act of worship, his sacrifice on the Cross,  produced an aroma pleasing to God, reminding God of the salvation of God’s children.

 We are not the sacrifice. We are the aroma the sacrifice produces, a daily reminder to God of Christ’s sacrifice.  A daily affirmation to ourselves and those we meet that Jesus loves us.

 Is your life an aroma pleasing to God and inviting to your neighbors?

 May the pleasing aroma of Christ fill every room.