"Let's walk down to see the donkeys," I suggested to my husband. It would be good to get out of the house for some fresh air. He agreed, and we walked to the back of the property where they are fenced in.
The donkeys were nowhere to be seen, but we were enjoying the outdoors anyway, also admiring the blossoms on the dogwood trees. I decided to try to get the cute animal's attention by calling them. So I did a donkey impersonation, yelling, "Hee-haw!" To our surprise, they came wending their way through the trees and were soon looking up at us. They were a little reluctant to being petted, though.
"Look at the cross on their backs!" I pointed out to Howard. Sure enough a black stripe went down their backs, and another streak crossed their shoulders. I had read somewhere that donkeys have a cross on their back, representing Jesus's death on the cross.
I also thought of Jesus riding on the donkey in his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, and the donkey that carried his mother with the growing secret inside her.
I plucked a beautiful dogwood blossom, examining it and thinking of the legend that the four petals represent the cross, and the reddish-brown smudges at the tip of each petal represents Jesus' shed blood. The one at the top for his crown of thorns, the ones on each side for the nail prints, and the lower petal calling to mind the spike in the feet of our Lord.
In any ordinary year, this past Sunday would have been celebrated in churches as Palm Sunday, as the crowd back then waved palm branches to welcome Jesus. Next Sunday, Easter Sunday, our church will celebrate His resurrection! Not everyone can be in or at a church, probably watching online. Weather permitting, plans are that our church will worship outside in a Drive-In service. Wherever people meet, the theme will no doubt be, "He is Risen!"
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