Riding on a donkey

Jesus rides into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. The Messiah, the King of Kings, comes not in a stately carriage, a white charger or even a chariot of fire, but on a donkey. The image is not just of humility, but a deliberate and stated refusal to play the world at its own games. The refusal to rule by power of force. God gives us free will and free choice, he forces us to make a decision. He does not brainwash us, he does not back us into a corner.

Yes our eternal destiny depend on it, yes it is a question of heaven or hell, but it is our question and we do, for good or evil, have a choice.

Jesus could have played the power game, and forced us to do his will. He could have said you will do it my way, and there will be no other choice. Instead he came in weakness. He was crucified, and he was killed, but he did not need all the power of heaven to save himself. He could have just chosen to manipulate the crowd. He was not just all powerful, he was all knowing as well. Jesus could have found a way out - but He did not, he chose to be silent like a sheep to the slaughter.

Let me repeat what I said about power games, and his refusal to play.

So what would you expect the followers of this suffering servant to be like, the one who declared that the "meek will inherit the earth"? The one who spoke about blessed are you when you are insulted?

Wouldn't you expect them to be people who were as humble and poor as a medieval monk? Who sought not power and prestige but rejected it? Who served the poor and one another? Who themselves rejected the power game?

It is interesting to note the early church. The apostles decided it was not good for them to wait on tables - but this is exactly what Jesus did and what He encouraged them to do. So they picked seven men to wait on tables, to do the practical service while they got on with the far more important work of preaching the gospel. Acts 6v1-7.

So who do we hear of next? Indeed who do we hear of next with the ministry of the word? Is it the disciples? No, it is Stephen the man who waited on tables. He gets to be the first Christian martyr. Why? Because He was effective, because God blessed Him. Now we always say that this is because the twelve were protected, but that argument does not appear in scripture. The fact was Stephen was being effective and His effectiveness got him noticed.

Stephen the man who could wait on tables, the man who did not get the plum job of preacher, the one picked to play second fiddle, the man picked for the B team, does not moan and complain - he gets on with it. Stephen becomes Stephen the martyr, the one whose wisdom they cannot beat and therefore they have to kill him. Stephen who sees heaven, and sets the grand example to us all. Stephen the waiter on tables. I cannot resist the comment that in the end God makes a powerful point.

So now back to the apostles? No, now to Philip, and who is Philip the Evangelist, well Philip the Evangelist is actually Philip who waits on tables. I think you may be getting the picture of the argument that I am developing? Philip picked to wait on tables but scattered because of the persecution goes off and starts a mission to Samaria. Again Philip is highly effective.

So when do we next hear of these Apostles, who were so important that they had no time to wait on tables?

Ac 8:14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.

Who is leading the action the Apostle's or those who wait on tables?

So why is it that status is so important for so many leaders? Why does authority and power become such a question in the church? Simple. The disciples constantly bickered about who would be the greatest, we humans like power, we like authority, we like a bit of greatness - and it would be wrong of me to cast the first stone. Of course it appeals, and since we always believe that we are right (and that is not a bad thing if we believed that what we are doing was wrong then we would be stupid to do it) we give it a spiritual spin. The real issue is that underneath it all, Lord Acton's maxim is true, "All power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

The problem with most churches is that we give our ministers almost absolute power over the life of the church, and then we cannot understand why things go wrong. The problem is that power is tempting, but that temptation can be subtle. In the Lord of the Rings, the Ring of Power destroys all it comes into contact with, and the aim is to destroy it, to keep away from it, and not to wear it.

So celebrate Jesus riding on a donkey, but don't be a donkey! Like Jesus refuse to play this world's power games because in the end you can only win by not playing.