The donkey, one of christianity's great status symbols

​In a world often consumed with status, we Christians often overlook one of the greatest status symbols of all: a donkey.

Today, Palm Sunday, marks the beginning of Holy Week. The day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on his way to the cross. The cross that put him into the tomb he would walk out of on Easter Sunday.

The Easter miracle that has become the foundation for our faith.

But when it comes to the foundation of our faith, maybe we shouldn't so swiftly rush from Palm Sunday to Easter. Maybe we shouldn't focus so intently on the cross and the rolled away stone before spending some time reflecting on the donkey.

For just as the scriptures predicted, Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. Many in the crowds waiting on the arrival of the savior who would set them free from Roman oppression would have expected to see a king coming to town on a horse. The horse in those days was more typically associated with war and conquest far more than a donkey.

But contrary to what many expected, Jesus wasn't coming into town to overthrow a worldly kingdom, Jesus was riding into town to introduce heavenly peace.

A peace, that if you follow the story of Jesus, always starts with humility.

It always starts with a donkey.

By riding into town on a donkey, Jesus was telling the world that he is here for everyone, not just the elite and the powerful. By choosing to ride on a lowly donkey Jesus rejected pride and power and status.

By riding into town on a donkey, without saying a word, Jesus made one of his finals sermons a message on inclusion. He wasn't there to save just those being oppressed by the Romans, he was there to save all who are oppressed.

By riding into town on a donkey, Jesus demonstrated that Christian leadership and authority are rooted in service and humility, not domination and extravagance.

By riding into town on a donkey, Jesus let us know he was here to fill the role of a spiritual king and not just another worldly leader who would soon come and go like all the others.

By riding into town on a donkey, Jesus was inviting us to peacefully and humbly follow him to the cross and to the grave and to eternal life.

Follow him, that is, on a donkey.

Follow him by ditching our need for status symbols and embrace lives of simplicity and humility.

Follow him by persistently proclaiming Jesus as a peaceful king for all people and not just a chosen few.

Follow him by knowing our faith isn't something that comes to life when we rise from the grave, it's something that comes to life every single day when we live out the example of the king on a donkey.

Humble. Peaceful. Accepting. Serving.

Our graves, no matter how we get to them or rise from them, will do very little to point others to a more hopeful life. How we ride to our graves, on the other hand, has the potential to change people's lives in beautiful ways.

I encourage us all to follow Jesus' example as he journeyed to his grave on Palm Sunday.

I encourage us to do it on a donkey.