Fetching the Donkey

Holy Week is upon us in the world of church music. We begin the commemoration with traditional Palm Sunday activities, then move inexorably toward the darkness of the weekend, and culminate our observance with Easter's celebrations. As the leader of the worship planning for these heady events, my recognition of them is not over-spiritualized, for I am overwhelmed with the detailed planning necessary for the congregation to worship. In order for the average parishioner to have the opportunity to draw near to the stories of the final week of Jesus' earthly time, there must be invisible organization that facilitates the observance.

I have been thinking about how universal the need for organization seems to be, and how overlooked it is as an expression of "Christ-likeness." As I have revisited the gospel stories, a couple of episodes have drawn my attention in a new way.

In the first instance, Jesus is preparing to lead his entourage into Jerusalem for Passover. Peter has just reminded him that he and his colleagues have left everything to follow. James and John are jockeying for position, asking to be figuratively placed at Jesus' right and left hands. And Jesus has overruled his followers by stopping to ask a blind beggar what he wants. When he asks for his sight to be restored, Jesus tells him that his faith has made him whole, and he joins the entourage. I imagine the attention received by this beggar dismays Peter, James and John.

Then Jesus acts in a way I haven't thought about in my previous visits to this story. He announces that he has taken care of the transporation arrangements. He sends two of the disciples to fetch a donkey he has arranged to use in his entry into Jerusalem. While the disciples have been occupied with other things, the Lord has organized a live animal to use in his drama, in-keeping with prophecy. Anyone who has walked up Sixth Avenue in New York during the run of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular knows that the use of an animal in a drama calls for a lot of behind-the-scenes care and feeding. And although the disciples seem to be concerned with publicly demonstrating their great faith, Jesus alone has thought ahead and organized the activity so that the people watching the entry into Jerusalem get caught up in the drama, and do not see the invisible organization that took place in advance.

In another instance, the disciples have criticized their dinner at the home of Simon the Leper, questioning a woman who pours ointment on Jesus' head. But when it is time to plan their own Passover dinner, they leave it to Jesus to make the arrangements. It would seem logical for them to act as the event planners, for they carried the purse and knew the numbers. But the gospel story indicates that the planning was ironically left to Jesus, who was hours away from receiving a death sentence. We would find it ridiculous to ask a death row inmate to make the logistical arrangements for his last meal, but that is the position in which Jesus finds himself. Once again he acts as the organizer, telling the disciples where to go, and how to find the room he has prepared with furnishings and food.

Church choirs have a thorough knowledge of the need for organizing and preparing the elements of the story. Many hours of diligent work are represented in their three or four minutes of singing each Sunday. In addition to rehearsing, people work to collate their music and place it in their folders, to purchase that music months in advance, to move chairs and instruments and music stands, and many other tasks. In my experience, it has been rare for a dedicated choral singer to remind me of all they have given up in order to serve, or for singers to ask for a position of prominence before the congregation. It is common, however, for them to express a desire to organize and prepare so that they can do their best as an act of worship.

It is easy to observe Holy Week with no thought for the invisible organizers who make those events meaningful. Every church has ushers, flower arrangers, ordinance preparers, bulletin typers and musicians who work with great dedication. It is as if they are the large portion of the iceberg supporting below the water's surface, so that the tip of the iceberg can be visible to all who seek it.

In this year's Holy Week observance, I am expressing gratitude that in following Christ, there are those who remain unconcerned with what they have given up, or with their position at Jesus' right or left hand, but have followed Christ in his sacred task of organizing the elements needed for the vivid presentation of the story.