“And You rode and ass' foal
They spread their coats and cut down palms
For You and Your donkey to walk upon
But the world won't find what it thinks it wants
On the back of an ass' foal
So I guess You had to get sold
'Cause the world can't stand what it can't own
And it can't own You
'Cause You did not have a home
Birds have nests, foxes have dens
But the hope of the whole world rests
On the shoulders of a homeless man
You had the shoulders of a homeless man
No, You did not have a home”
- From You Did Not Have A Home
When he was tragically killed in a car wreck in 1997 Rich Mullins was working on an album based on the radical life of Jesus; his friends produced the album from his demos and called it The Jesus Record. This lyric from that album fits wonderfully into Holy Week. Here is that upside down image of a king on an ass’s foal; a King with not only no castle but no home. The world so locked into materialism can’t really grasp the message of Christianity that treats such things with deep suspicion. I suppose the ultimate image is of a Tramp saving he world; a man who gave up his power to change everything. The world finds that troubling... but it is our only hope!
Comments