Today's Scripture Reading (August 30, 2020): Zechariah 9
His name was
Bucephalus. And while he only lived thirty years, during those thirty years, he
made the most of existence. If the measure of our lives is whether or not we
are loved, then there is no doubt that Bucephalus found himself on the positive
side of life's equation. Bucephalus was loved, but he was also feared.
Bucephalus was
a warrior, and like many warriors, his dream was not to die of weariness or old-age,
but preferably in battle. For Bucephalus, that moment came in June 326 B.C.E., at
the Battle of the Hydaspes, a military skirmish fought on the banks of the Jhelum
River in modern-day Pakistan. Bucephalus was old at the age of thirty, but he
was not weary. He fought as he had fought in the days of his youth. (I know,
you question whether thirty is old, but, you see, the warrior Bucephalus was a
horse.) More importantly, Bucephalus was the much-loved steed of Alexander the
Great. And until the moment of his death, he was the faithful partner of one of
the greatest generals this world has ever known. And every battle that Alexander
fought, until that fateful one in Pakistan, Alexander fought with Bucephalus.
In Ancient
times, a conquering King always entered the city on his horse. And since
Alexander was a conqueror, he always entered the city of those whom he had defeated
on his horse, and, for Alexander, that meant Bucephalus.
But that was
not the only way that a king could enter a city. The other way was on a donkey.
And when the king entered a city on a donkey, it meant that he was coming in
peace. And while we often read this passage and emphasize the humility of the Jerusalem's
king entering the city, riding on a donkey, we seem to minimize that the
passage also says that the comes to the city "righteous and victorious,"
riding on a "donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." The latter
phrase appears to be a Hebrew way of stressing that the animal was a thoroughbred.
The king was not going to enter the city riding some kind of mongrel beast;
this was mount fit for a king.
As Christians,
we see the fulfillment of this passage taking place with Jesus on Palm Sunday. On
that Sunday, he entered Jerusalem, not as an Alexander would have on his
precious Bucephalus, but riding a donkey, a borrowed one at that, declaring to
all that he had come in peace. But we waged war against him anyway. He came victorious,
assured that he would accomplish what he had set out to do, and yet we called
him a thief. He came on a thoroughbred, and we treated him as a mongrel, unfit
to enter our lives. He came in love, and we responded in hate. He gave his life
for us, and we dishonored him.
There was no "rejoice"
in our actions. And that is on us.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Zechariah
10
No comments:
Post a Comment