Route 66 - Pt 9

Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” (Matthew 21:1-5 ESV).

Now we travel to Oatman, Arizona. After driving the narrow, winding roads of this part of Route 66, arriving in Oatman, Arizona is a welcome relief. What at first appears to be a pleasant town, soon reveals itself to be anything but thanks to the wild burros there. They roam the street freely, sometimes holding up traffic, and sticking their heads in the cars to see if there are any carrots to be had. The business owners sort of take care of the burros, seeing that they get enough food and yet try to prevent the tourists from overfeeding them, especially food that they shouldn’t eat. The baby burro can’t eat the same tourist food (carrots and apples) as the parents because of their sensitive stomachs, so the townfolk came up with the brilliant idea to put stickers on their foreheads: “STOP! Please don’t feed me”. The wild burros in Oatman are the descendants of burros brought by gold miners in the late 1800s. With the mining running out and the mines not being useful for the War Effort (World War II), most mines were closed in 1942. The miners abandoned the burros to the surrounding hills. These days, the burros come into Oatman in the morning to beg for food from tourists and disappear back into the hills at dusk. Many of the stores in Oatman sell pellets and carrots to feed to the burros. They are a big tourist attraction. However, they are still indeed wild and prone to unpredictable behavior. Donkeys are mentioned in the Scripture, fulfilling the role of a “beast of burden” by taking the responsibility and burden of others, being the symbolic representation of versatility, hard working, determination, will power, obstinacy, dedication towards work and devotion. Donkeys have a well known reputation of being a stubborn creature. This being true, there is another aspect to the donkey’s use in the Scripture. Our reading gives us one of those. Though Jesus had been to Jerusalem several times to celebrate the feasts, his final entry into Jerusalem had a special meaning. He was solemnly entering as a humble King of peace. Traditionally, entering the city on a donkey symbolized arrival in peace, rather than as a war-waging king arriving on a horse. Jesus came in peace. He would leave the King and conqueror of all! Follow Him!