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Advent Devotional for Sunday, December 21
Mark 11:1-11
Such a familiar story! It’s one of those stories that brings comfort to me because I’ve heard it since I was a small child. But knowing this story so well doesn’t prevent me from reading it with fresh eyes and feeling a “newness” in my heart reading it again.
All four Gospels make mention of Jesus riding a young donkey (or a colt) into Jerusalem. I’ve watched many pageants and heard many choirs sing of the wondrous, “Hosanna in the highest.” (Some of those pageants actually used live donkeys!) What I had not considered before was the “unbroken-ness” of the donkey that is mentioned in two Gospels. The unbroken donkey has never been saddled, never been straddled, never been fully harnessed. But “brokenness” will surely be in the donkey’s future.
I was also reminded of the “unbroken-ness” of Jesus riding into Jerusalem. He has spent three years teaching, healing, preaching sermons, gathering faithful followers, and struggling with the religious leaders of the synagogues. And as he rides into Jerusalem on a donkey (the sign of coming in peace) he surely knows that “brokenness” awaits his future, just on the other side of the city walls.
And he rides into Jerusalem knowing.
Gracious God, I’m thankful for the familiarity of our faith stories that bring us comfort and joy. I’m also grateful for the new discoveries that are provided by reading and re-reading these biblical favorites. Amen.
Lori Gainer
MDiv Student
For the glory of God and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary is a seminary in the Presbyterian-Reformed tradition whose mission is to educate and equip individuals for the ordained Christian ministry and other forms of Christian service and leadership; to employ its resources in the service of the church; to promote and engage in critical theological thought and research; and to be a winsome and exemplary community of God's people.
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