"Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 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. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt,[a] the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting,“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” -Matthew 21:1-9
My friend texted me yesterday asking me if I would mind helping him move his mattress, 15 blocks, in the snow, at night. If this were just any person I would have respectfully declined after the word “move.” But this is one of my best friends and I, of course, said yes, before evaluating how this may actually physically scar me for life. Why would I ever voluntarily carry a mattress 15 blocks in the snow at night? I don’t think I would do that for myself.
But for the ones we truly care about, we don’t always think about the specifications of what we are doing. We just act out of love because we wouldn’t think of doing anything else.
Whenever I visit my mom, and I compliment her on her outfit, she literally just hands it to me. I mean she will change shirts and give me the shirt she was just wearing because I said it was cute. WHO DOES THAT? My mom doesn’t think “oh I just bought this, I should wear it a few times before giving it away” or “I really like this shirt, I am going to keep it forever.”
Nope. She just gives it away willingly without even thinking. And if I sneak it back into her closet before I leave, she sends it to me via UPS next day shipping.
When it comes to the people we love, out actions aren’t always logical. They don’t always make sense to the outside world.
The people of Jerusalem laid down their coats on the ground for Jesus.
They put what was, most likely, their only form of outerwear, on the dirty ground, all so a donkey, carrying the Messiah, could walk all over it. It makes no sense! But the people of Jerusalem were so head-over-heals in love with Jesus they didn’t know what else to do. This was their savior. This was the Son of God.
I pray we live today as an act of love to Jesus. And in loving Jesus we will treat ALL his sons and daughters as if they are our best friends and loved ones.
May our actions towards each other seem illogical in their capacity for love.
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