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Monday, April 10, 2006
God Sweats the Small Stuff
Psalm 118:1-2,19-29; Mark 11:1-11
"Don't sweat the small stuff" means "Major in the majors, and let the minor things take care of themselves." Fair enough. But when Mark spends half his version of the Palm Sunday story explaining just how Jesus got that donkey for his little parade -- well, you get the impression that even the smallest details of your life must mean a lot to God.
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My Southern Baptist classmate at the Presbyterian seminary told me he'd run into serious trouble a while back. Presiding at a funeral in his rural church, he quoted Mark 11:3 to reassure the grieving congregation the man had died because "the Lord has need of him." A sweet thought in its way. But the good people got up in arms that the preacher would compare the deceased to a donkey!
Watch out when your people know the Bible inside out.
It's true, Jesus sent two disciples to fetch a young donkey for his "triumphal entry" parade into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. And Mark devotes half his story of that glorious day to the details of that livestock transaction. Including the men's self-defense about taking the donkey because Jesus needed to have it. Very unusual, for the most concise of the four Gospel writers.
Two facts to consider:
1. Far from the lowly joke critter we moderns have in mind, the donkey in Bible times was really no less noble than a horse. When a king rode a horse in procession it was a sign of power and conquest. Riding on a donkey, the king signaled he was coming in peace and humility.
So Jesus' parade cut against the grain of the shouting crowd's "hosannas" -- a plea for him to "Save us now!" Meaning: "Get rid of the Roman oppressors! And do it right away!" But that was not his plan. His power to save came through submission to God's surprising method of salvation. His parade passed through the shadow of a cross.
2. All the donkey details in Mark's narrative suggest that God really cares about the "small stuff" when it comes to getting God's work done. Maybe it's all small stuff, after all. Those two disciples, only hours before running their lowly errand, had been arguing about who would have the best seats when Christ's kingdom finally got up and running. Ha! This was their crash course in humble service.
So, when you're serving God's big plan [Ministry], it's no little thing to change the light bulb in the church rest room, offer a ride for a doctor's appointment, or turn away from your computer screen to give a few minutes to someone who's itching to chat you up [ministry].
Life is full of small stuff. But there's no such thing as insignificant people. So everything really matters in the end.
posted by Jack Buckley at
5:55 PM
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