Sharing insights from John Sanford's Mystical Christianity (pp 253-5):
The donkey is fraught with significance. Hark back to the story of Balaam's Ass (Numbers 22:22ff). Here we see a donkey with more sense than his master, especially spiritual perspicacity: the donkey saw the angel with a sword and turned aside in spite of Balaam's commands.
We can also read in Mark 1:13 that after 40 days in the wilderness "Jesus was ministered to by the angels and the wild animals".
But the real significance of the donkey is the political symbolism. Kings generally come on white horses; Jesus came on a donkey.
Jesus was likely familiar with Zechariah and understood that a military ruler would come on a horse, but a man of peace on a donkey.
In spite of this the crowd acclaimed him as the messiah who, they thought would restore the kingdom of David, the great military ruler. They soon saw that it wasn't going to happen.
Sanford pointed out that crowds have a mob consciouness: a few days later they shouted "crucify him". He also pointed out that this is the way the crowd deals with all leaders. "produce or it's your head". If the price of gas continues to rise, good luck to Bush.
Ministers know this phenominon: the people want something from him that he simply can't deliver; let's say free salvation. Eventually they will be frustrated with his leadership. Even a little discipleship of Jesus will lead to sharing his fate - in some degree.
Sanford pointed out that "Christianity was originally a religion rooted in the individual" but "the crowd emphasis has often taken its place." Crowds are subpersonal. God help us.
3 comments:
"Christianity was originally a religion rooted in the individual" but "the crowd emphasis has often taken its place."
This is the kicker -- if we are to go to church to be part of a community worshipping God, what is one to do when the community aspect overtakes the spiritual?
Why is it often easier to find God in nature than in church? Maybe its because I don't judge nature the way I judge my neighbors and that's my sin.
I don't for a moment believe that Christianity was orginally a religion rooted in the individual. It was a social political and religious movement and as such was rooted in the group.
Similarly community is always spiritual. But there are also bad spirits. Anytime we give authority to someone or something spirit is involved. Sometiems its a holy spirit. Sometimes not.
Okay! The communal aspect is certainly central. Group is a spiritually neutral word. A group may be a true community or a principality. In my experience the larger the group the more like a principality.
(You may have heard this story before):
The Brevard (NC) meeting was so small and so full of saintly old folks that I was rhapsodic about it. One week a visiting bureaucrat came through evaluating our meeting. He pronounced it a very good Quaker meeting. I interrupted: "it's much more than that; it's a community of love."
A community of love is a spiritual community led by the H.S. Larger communities unfortunately give more and more latitude for the other spirits.
My feelings about this were expressed at length in a recent post in my personal blog.
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