Palm Sunday: little donkey

Palm Sunday: little donkey

Sometime in the late 1990s the local municipality of Jerusalem denied all donkeys access to the walled Old City. The decision was made primarily on health grounds but it changed the landscape of Jerusalem immediately. Somehow the donkey was a feature of the desert and of the Bible; its presence contributed to the ‘Bible Lands’ ethos of Jerusalem valued by so many Christian pilgrims. Didn’t Jesus ride into Jerusalem on a donkey on the first Palm Sunday? Yes, and with great significance and symbolism. His kingdom was a kingdom of humility and peace, a kingdom of patience and suffering, a kingdom of service and loyalty to God. All these characteristics, especially humility, are symbolised by the donkey. On that first Palm Sunday Jesus didn’t ride into Jerusalem on a horse, the symbol of worldly authority and power. He rode in on a donkey or ass, the symbol of humility and lowliness…