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April 5 2009 - "Being A Christopher" - The Rev. Vicky Ney
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April 5, 2009 (Palm Sunday) “Being A Christopher” The Rev. Vicky Ney
Text: Matthew 21:1-11
Some of you may already know this about me: I’m an animal lover. I have a soft spot for dogs—actually all kinds of animals. When I get to watch TV and surf through the channels for something to watch, I often land on Animal Planet, and am fascinated by some of the documentaries about animals.
I know I mentioned some time ago that I also love old Westerns on TV and movies. When I watched those Westerns with my kids, they were always shocked that when a cowboy on a horse got shot and both rider and horse went down, I always said, “Oh, that poor horse!” I’m not exactly sure what that says about me—except that I really love animals!
Back when some of those old Westerns were made, I knew that the welfare of animals was not always considered. In fact, it seems there was total disregard for animals’ safety many years ago. For instance, in the epic movie Ben Hur, that was filmed in 1924, over one hundred horses died in those staged battles and Roman arena games, and in 1935 twenty five horses were killed or had to be euthanized when they filmed The Charge of the Light Brigade. That’s horrible!
Fortunately, the ASPCA and a group called American Humane stepped in to enforce standards for animals. They now have certain protections and contract guarantees. No animal actor should have to work like a dog—even if it is a dog! The New Yorker magazine reported that these days, if an ape is on a set for more than three days, the production company must provide a play area or a private park for the animal to enjoy. When a bear is working on a film, the set must be free from anything that produces troublesome smells, like cheap perfume, strong liquor, and jelly doughnuts. (come to think of it, I probably shouldn’t have to work around jelly doughnuts either—it’s just too tempting!)
Anyway, I’m glad that animals are treated much better these days—and even honored for their acting. I found out that there’s an award—like an Oscar—that goes to the animal voted the best actor in a film. It’s called the PATSY, which stands for “Performing Animal Top Star of the Year.” Some past winners included the dog Lassie and Roy Roger’s horse Trigger (no surprise there!) and Arnold the Pig from the old “Green Acres” TV show.
If the “Performing Animal Top Star of the Year” award had been around in first-century Jerusalem, the animal who carried Jesus certainly would have been a winner. The donkey is a true “unsung” hero in our Gospel lesson this morning.
Matthew tells us that Jesus sends two of his disciples into the village of Bethpage to fetch a donkey and a colt. This is to fulfill what had been spoken by the prophet Zechariah. “Look, your king is coming to you,” said the prophet, “humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” (Matthew 21:5; Zechariah 9:9).
This was very important to Matthew, the Gospel writer. Most scholars agree that Matthew’s main readers—the audience he was primarily aiming at—were Jewish people. He wanted to make sure he made the point that Jesus was definitely the one the prophets in the Old Testament spoke about as the Messiah. It was essential for Matthew to let all of us know that Jesus was the quintessential Messiah who fulfilled all of the traditional predictions of the prophets, as well as some of the non-traditional predictions—like, Jesus was of the line or family of David and that he was born in Nazareth. Matthew really didn’t want us to miss this one about riding on a donkey—because he quotes the prophecy right here for us. He’s saying, “Make no mistake, this Messiah is not going to look like your usual conqueror. He’s going to be riding on a donkey—not a gorgeous stallion. But that’s Okay, because that’s exactly what the prophet Zechariah predicted for the real Messiah 500 years ago.”
So here in our lesson, Jesus enters Jerusalem as predicted, and a large crowd spreads coats and branches on the road in front of him. They greet him as their king, shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:8-9). It’s a Hollywood spectacular!
As for the donkey, he plays the role as intended. And you know, I think we can learn a lot about serving Christ from this little donkey.
After all, the disciples are not particularly good Palm Sunday role models for us. They may stand with Jesus now, but in a matter of days one will betray Jesus and another will deny him. Just about all of the rest will run into hiding. In fact, the 20th chapter of Matthew—the chapter just before this story—tells of their argument with each other about who was going to be the Top Banana in Jesus’ kingdom. (Matthew 20:20-28). This is not a flattering picture of the disciples, to say the least. In fact, they were nervous and upset during this whole trip to Jerusalem—with Jesus talking about death and suffering and their visions of Jesus’ kingship not the one that Jesus was talking about. They were probably VERY confused at best, disillusioned at worst.
These disciples had seen a lot, done a lot, listened a lot—but in the end, when push comes to shove, they will fall away from the Savior.
Could that describe many of us here today? We’ve followed Jesus for years now. We were baptized a long time ago, we’ve sat in church, we dropped money in the plate, we might have even taught a Sunday School class here or there, we’ve cooked for one of the many Presbyterian meals, we’ve done our part.
Although some of us no doubt have endured the fires of illness, suffering, and loved ones dying—sort of passed a “faith test”—many others of us have bailed out of the “trust Jesus” idea just when a storm of life approached—sort of like the disciples. No, the disciples are not the role models we need.
Nor are the crowds. They’re worse than the disciples. They’re curious, but not committed. They’re shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David” today, but we all know they will soon be shouting “Crucify him” by Thursday night.
If we can’t use the disciples or the happy crowd as our role models, where else can we look? How about the religious leaders of the day? No, not there. They were corrupt, mean-spirited and jealous of Jesus’ popularity. When Lazarus was raised from the dead, they conspired to put him right back in the tomb—alive—honestly! They offered and took bribes. They solicited false testimony. They created a bogus trial for Jesus. They sent an innocent man to his death.
How about looking to religious leaders of today? I really think 95% of us pastors, priests and rabbis are caring, committed people. But the other 5% sure make the newspapers. Just this week, a couple of nondenominational pastors nearby here in New Jersey are being investigated for using church funds to buy million dollar mansions and sail boats. And, as we know all too well, some others have been indicted for child abuse.
So what’s left for role models for us?
Nothing but this “top performer” little donkey.
This animal can teach us a lot, because he is the creature who carries Christ into the world. And that, my friends, is what it’s all about—carrying Christ into the world.
The donkey was a Christ-bearer—or a Christopher (derived from the Greek Christos combined with pherein “to bear, to carry”).
Today is an opportunity to take the name Christopher (or Christophera, feminine) as our own. By doing that, we commit to bearing Christ to the world.
Being a Christopher would mean:
• We serve Christ. Being faithful servants can be a burden.
• We serve Christ humbly, not caring who gets the glory.
• We follow Christ’s direction. We would be willing to go where he wants us to go, not where we want to go.
• Not getting spooked by the crowds—not distracted by the noise and commotion all around us.
• Never asking Christ to “get off our backs.”
• Being obedient to the will of the One who holds the reins.
As we carry Christ into the world, we’re challenged to do a particular kind of work in a particularly Christian style. This means letting love be genuine, hating what is evil, holding fast to what is good. It means rejoicing in hope, being patient in suffering, and persevering in prayer. To live in this way means that we are going to see to the needs of others, extending hospitality to strangers, and even go so far as to bless those who persecute us (or even annoy us!). (Romans 12:9-14)
If we can pull this off, and model our lives on the one character in this whole drama that deserve emulation, we will discover the joy that comes from carrying Christ into the world.
I’d like to end this sermon, with this continuation of the donkey’s story:
The day after Palm Sunday, the donkey awakened, his mind still savoring the afterglow of the most exciting day of his life. Never before had he felt such a rush of pleasure and pride. He walked into town and found a group of people by the well. “I’ll show myself to them,” he thought.
But they didn’t notice him. They went on drawing water and paid him no mind. “Throw your garments down,” the little donkey said crossly. “Don’t you know who I am?” They just looked at him. Someone slapped him across the tail and ordered him to move. “Miserable heathens!” muttered the donkey. “I’ll just go to the market where the good people are.” But the same thing happened there. No one paid any attention to the donkey as he strutted down the main street. “The palm branches!” he shouted. “Where are your palm branches? Yesterday, you threw palm branches!”
Hurt and confused, the little donkey went home to his mother.
“Foolish child,” she said gently. “Don’t you realize that without the Savior, you are just an ordinary donkey?”
Just like the donkey who carried Jesus in Jerusalem, we are most fulfilled when we are in the service of Jesus Christ. Without him all our best efforts are nothing. But when we lift up Christ, we are no longer ordinary people, but key players in God’s plan to redeem the world. When we are Christophers—Christ-bearers—every single person in this room this morning—can change the world.
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