Donkeys, yokes + the burdens we carry.

💎 TTG on the hero of Holy Week.

If you were to purchase a ticket to the movie theater of my mind, you’d quickly experience analysis paralysis due to the amount of things playing at any given moment. Except when it comes to stories of scripture. Then you have only 2 viewing options: The Chosen or The Star, a realistic time honored depiction or animation.

Today’s showing will be The Star, to highlight my hero of Holy Week, Bo.

Bo is a cartoon donkey who’s chained to a mill, walking the same circle day in and day out as he rolls the millstone to grind flour. But he has this big dream to do something more with his life, to be somebody important. When he sees the royal caravan out his window with its pomp and fanfare, Bo decides that being part of it is what he’s meant to do. Throughout the whole movie, he’s torn between helping this pregnant lady named Mary who’s pretty kind to him or running away to join the royal caravan. He ends up staying with Mary and carries her to Bethlehem for Jesus to be born. At the end of the movie when Bo sees the wisemen and angels and hears the things people are saying about this baby, he realizes what has actually happened.

“Guys! I carried the king on my back!” Without realizing it, Bo had been part of a royal caravan, carrying the most important king there ever would be. His sassy bird friend Dave says “We’re never going to hear the end of this, are we?” and his sweet sheep friend Ruth says “You know, I hope we never do.”

There’s a lot of people in the Palm Sunday story that we could look to. The disciples did what Jesus asked when they sent him to collect some dude’s colt. The animal’s owner sacrificed and gave up something valuable just because Jesus asked him to. The people in the streets laid their cloaks on the ground and believed and praised Him with no shame for how they looked. These would all be great role models to look to as we prepare for Easter. But this week, I want us to emulate the donkey.

Jesus’ donkey didn’t have a name or fame. He’s not a recorded hero (outside of my heart) but he was the most humble, even as he had the most important job - to carry out Jesus’ plan with the Father, carrying King Jesus to the people.

And we carry Him just the same. 2 Corinthians says:

For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

God has given you this light, this great treasure, to carry. Even now, in the midst of so much darkness. Even now, when you fear your light has not only gone out but has been snuffed out, without ember, by forces beyond your control.

Maybe you can’t find your light because it’s been buried under all of the other things you’re carrying. You know, the pollen, taxes, the end of year activities ramping up, the spring sickness, the family you’ll be in proximity to next weekend. Maybe you’re exhausted because it seems like you’re the only one carrying light and the weight of the responsibility is heavy. The media makes it seem like the world is only plunging further and further into darkness with history being erased, people being dehumanized and policies being amended faster than you can keep up with. Maybe the light you’re trying to shine is so dim you wonder if keeping it lit is even making a difference.

But God gave you this light so you would know the glory of God in the face of Jesus.

Picture the face of someone you love. Now close your eyes. (Okay, then open them again so you can keep reading.) Can you still recognize that face when your eyes are closed, when there is no light coming in? Of course you can! Now do the same for Jesus. Once you’ve seen the goodness of God in Jesus’ face, whatever he looks like to you, you can recognize him even in the darkest of places.

And friend, because you carry the light, you carry the king. You carry his name, his presence, his message…in how you live as a Christian. Yours is the face that someone else pictures when they want to recognize Him.

I think Bo the donkey makes me cry because I see myself in his longing for more. At one point he prays “God? Hello? Um... I don't really know how this works, or if you listen to prayers from donkeys, but I've seen Mary do this many times, and I don't know what else to do. My friends need help. I thought if I followed the star, it would lead me to where I'm supposed to be, but I failed them. What do you want me to do?”

I don’t know about you but I long for purpose. I want to do something big for the King because I know who he is and I want to help other people know him, too. So I follow my own stars, my own shiny things, chasing after what I think I’m supposed to do. Leave a legacy. Make a difference. Do something that matters. Be part of something great. Change the world and make it better. But I, too, find myself failing over and over again. Praying this prayer over and over again:

God, people need help. What do you want me to do?!

And God has to remind me: You’re already doing the most important thing. You’re carrying the king. There is no greater purpose than that.

Let me give you one more unsolicited piece of donkey trivia. While widely known to be stubborn, donkeys can be led quite easily under the direction of a yoke. A yoke is a piece of wood that’s placed over the shoulders of two animals who are standing side by side. The yoke also makes a flat landing space for loads to be, well, loaded on.

You may recognize the word yoke from Jesus who said in Matthew:

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Jesus knows the world is heavy. He knows you’re tired. That’s what carrying weight does, it strains our bodies and minds until we’re forced to put it down and rest. Yes, we should rely on Jesus to help us carry our burdens and to rely on his strength.

But read that scripture one more time with the other passage in mind, especially the last line. What if that light didn’t refer to weight but instead referred to the light that shines in our hearts.

The burden I give you is light.

Did anyone else physically feel that mindblow moment OR IS IT JUST ME?! Changing the meaning of light completely changes the meaning of the burden yet it feels so much more relevant. The burden is light. The burden IS the light. Of course it’s hard to try and light up the darkness. Of course it’s heavy to be a hopeful person right now in the world. Of course we feel alone with our tiny little flames flickering in a void. The burden is light. And it’s the easiest yoke to bear.

Carrying the king is lighter than anything else you’re carrying into this week. If you’re carrying shame, guilt, regret or expectations that have been put on you, lay it down. If you’re carrying things that are the result of your own decisions - sin, bitterness, worry, jealousy - lay that down. If you’re carrying a broken faith identity, outgrown practices or beliefs that are too heavy to bear, lay them down. Your pride, your fear, your self-protection, your righteous anger, the people who disappoint, the people who rely on you, the future …let. Jesus. carry it.

This week when you remember the crucifixion, think of Jesus carrying it all until even He no longer can, when he’ll give it to his Father. The world will feel extra dark and hopeless for a short time. Then God will make the best trade there has ever been, taking our weight and giving us the light of Jesus in return. No take backs.

We carry the king to the people. Let’s make sure they never hear the end of it.

For more on using your Holy Imagination to find yourself in the stories of the unnamed, but oh so important, people the scripture, check out Becoming Church Episode 109: Your Name is Daughter with Amy Seiffert. While she doesn’t have a chapter on the donkey, she does show us how the unnamed women in the Bible make it possible for us to find our own places in God’s story.