Humble

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,“Say to the daughter of Zion,‘Behold, your king is coming to you,humble, and mounted on a donkey,and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” Matthew 21:1-5

I remember a summer day when I was a child and folks came to my parents house unexpectedly. We were all dressed in bathing suits, having run home from the beach because of a quickly moving thunder storm. As the rain poured down we played games and ate snacks, my mother absent-mindedly drawing silly tattoos in pen on my father. When the door bell rang we were all startled. My Dad sent us little ones to answer the door while they threw on something more respectable. The only thing at hand were rain coats. We always wondered what these dignified and sophisticated people thought of my parents sitting around their living room in rain coats. They talked about national church matters, carrying on for a good hour and went on their way. We kids, who had been hiding, spilled out laughing, rolling on the living room floor. My parents could not contain themselves either. Family life is regularly humbling.

We find ourselves at the place where Jesus id beginning his last days, entering Jerusalem to the roar of the crowds. He knew how false and changeable people are and how constant and faithful God is. Pride and dignity are not the currency of God's love, rather the humble and simple gifts of life. So Jesus entered his greatest public moment on the humblest of beasts and the most lowly of routes. God invites us to live lives that offer access and healing to the humblest and broken in our world.

Today, I pray that God will help me to be humble, to fill me with laughter at my own humanity, and give me perspective on the important things in life. I pray that God will use me to be a conduit of God's love and grace this day.