In February we went to Arizona and for the first time in my life I saw the majesty of the Grand Canyon. We got to the park late and so couldn’t see anything in the dark. We got up before dawn and made our way to the rim. The sunrise was amazing as we watched the light slowly wash over the canyon walls. It was so much more immense than I had ever imagined.
After breakfast we hiked part of the South Kaibab Trail. There was snow and ice on the first part of the trail so I was grateful for my traxs and hiking poles. We made our way down into the canyon with magnificent views, stopping first at Ooh Ahh point, named for the reaction most people have while standing on the boulders and looking out. We then continued down to Cedar Ridge. Upon arriving there, I leaned against some rails and took in the views.
Shortly after we got there, three teams of mules arrived coming up from a lower part of the canyon. I moved knowing the rails were for them to tie onto. The mules were covered in sweat and had large empty bags lashed to their sides. The wranglers told us that the bags had been filled with rock and dirt as they used the mules to repair the trails. They had been in the canyon for several days preparing the way for the hikers that would follow.
After a drink of water, we headed back up the trail knowing the hike up would take a lot longer than the walk down. The teams of mules quickly caught up to us on the narrow path. We pressed our bodies into the rocks on the upper side of the trail to let them pass. You could feel their breath and smell the sweat from all their hard work.
I thought of those mules this Holy Week as I remembered other beasts who carried heavy loads. Donkeys like the one who carried Mary to Bethlehem and another donkey who 30 years later carried Jesus into Jerusalem. Both of these donkeys carried Jesus who prepared the way, a trail of love.
Jesus didn’t have wranglers to handle his donkey. He asks two of his disciples to go into the city and take a donkey and bring it back to him. Don’t worry, Jesus says, if anyone asks why you’re stealing it, just say the Lord has need of it. Crazy stuff indeed, but maybe by now the disciples knew to expect the unexpected.
They find the donkey, and it all goes as Jesus said it would. Barbara Brown Taylor, an Episcopalian priest wrote, “Wonder which of the disciples got this donkey duty – maybe James and John who just days earlier were arguing about who got the best seats in the kingdom of God. Donkey detail to keep you on your toes, to keep you humble. So often that’s how it was and is — you have a passion for the kingdom, truly working on the side of God’s righteousness— easy to become self-important – and then you are given small jobs, — get the donkey, count how many loaves and fishes they have, stay here, stay awake while I pray, fill the baskets with the left overs, wash each other’s feet.”
Donkey duty take up much of our time. We are asked to do small things throughout our lives. Small things that make a difference. It is just like what the Prophet Micah said, “What does the Lord require of you? But to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God .” We walk, work and wait like the disciples and the donkeys.
The poet Mary Oliver wrote this in her poem, “the poet thinks about the donkey”:
But the donkey, tied to a tree as usual, waited.
Then he let himself be led away.
Then he let the stranger mount.
Never had he seen such crowds!
And I wonder if he at all imagined what was to happen.
Still, he was what he had always been: small, dark, obedient.
I hope, finally, he felt brave.
I hope, finally, he loved the man who rode so lightly upon him,
as he lifted one dusty hoof and stepped, as he had to, forward.
We step forward too, following the one who showed us love’s way. Let us bravely walk this way with its narrow trails and magnificent views. May we stop sometimes and offer a prayer, Ooh Ahh.
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