Dudley The Dreary Donkey
Stories
Object:
Holy Week, April 13-18, 2003
Edited by John Sumwalt and Jo Perry-Sumwalt
Contents
Palm Sunday: "Dudley the Dreary Donkey" by John Sumwalt
[index as Palm Sunday]
Maundy Thursday: "Visions" by Lisa Lancaster and Sara Jan Garza
[index as Maundy Thursday]
Good Friday: "The Power of the Cross" by Wendy Wosoba
[index as Good Friday, Cross]
John's Scrap Pile: "Betrayal"
[index as Betrayal, Judas]
A Story to Live By: "Messiah"
[index as One-Minute Stories, Handel's Messiah]
We begin this week with a Palm Sunday story told from the perspective of the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem. A silly idea, no doubt, and certainly not intended for serious-minded adults. The children may like it, though, and the grown-ups who enjoy overhearing the children's moment may learn something. Those looking for more traditional Holy Week fare will appreciate Wendy Wosoba's powerful vision of the cross and two intriguing Maundy Thursday visions.
Palm Sunday
Dudley the Dreary Donkey
by John Sumwalt
And when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, and said to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat; untie it and bring it."
Mark 11:1-2
Once upon a time there was a donkey named Dudley. He was known far and wide as Dudley the dreary donkey, because he always looked sad. Wherever Dudley went his head hung down and his ears drooped so low they almost dragged on the ground. Droopy ears are a sure sign of unhappiness in donkeys.
Dudley had not always been dreary. When he was little he was as happy as any donkey could be. But then, one day, Dudley had a dream. It was a special dream. Dudley knew it was special because it was unlike any other dream he had ever had before. And what's more, Dudley knew, he just knew, that his special dream was going to come true.
In the dream Dudley saw himself carrying a very important man on his back. He was the most important man in the world. And as Dudley carried him along people cheered and cheered, and they threw their coats down on the path in front of him.
When Dudley woke up, he was so sure that his special dream was going to come true that he went around and told all of his friends about it. Dudley was so excited that he thought his friends would be excited too, but they didn't seem to understand. They laughed at him and made fun of him.
After that, wherever he went the other donkeys would point at him and say, "There goes Dudley the dreamer." And that's when Dudley became dreary. But he didn't give up hope. Deep down inside, Dudley knew that someday his dream would come true. Whenever someone came to the donkey pen Dudley's ears would prick up and he would hold his breath, thinking this might be the day when his special dream would come true.
One day two men came to the donkey pen. They told the owner they wanted a donkey for a very special occasion. Immediately Dudley's ears pricked up, and he held his shoulders up high so that they would look wide and strong.
The two men looked over all of the donkeys carefully. They patted and poked and nodded and shook their heads until finally they came to Dudley. "This is the one," one of the men said to the other one. "Yes, no doubt about it," said the other man, "I think the master will be very pleased with this donkey."
Dudley could hardly contain his joy. He wanted to jump and kick and hee-haw all over the pen. But instead he just smiled to himself and walked along as if it were any ordinary day.
When they got to the edge of the city, a very wise and gentle-looking man dressed in a white robe came over and got up on Dudley's back. He patted Dudley on the head and spoke softly in his ear. "He sure doesn't act as if he were the most important man in the world," Dudley thought to himself. "Maybe this isn't the day my dream will come true after all."
But when they came into the city all the doubts left Dudley's mind. There were thousands of people lining the streets. They waved palm branches and shouted "hosanna." Some of the people threw their coats on the ground for Dudley to walk on.
Dudley held his head up high, and his ears stuck straight up toward the sky. He knew that his special dream had come true. He couldn't wait to get back to the pen and tell his friends that he had carried the most important man in the world. Now they would know that he wasn't just a dreamer, and nobody would ever again call him Dudley the dreary donkey.
Maundy Thursday
"For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them."
John 13:15-17
Maundy Thursday Vision #1
by Lisa Lancaster
In 1985 I was struggling deeply with a very painful friendship. I was also at a time in my life where I was being overloaded with the "Christ suffered on the cross, so it is the calling of all Christians to suffer like him" sentiment. I could not make the distinction between the "cost of discipleship" and healthy self-care and self-love. Things in the friendship had come to a head for me one day. I was weeping and praying, saying, "God, I just can't do this any more! I can't stay in this friendship any more - it is tearing me apart!" Not coincidentally, this was Maundy Thursday, and I had just come from a worship service that told me more about Christ's suffering, and our call to suffer, again!
As soon as I cried out this prayer, I had an image of Christ on the cross, glaring down at me! And he said, "I'm hanging here - and you can't handle a little pain?" Almost immediately, I knew that this vision was a parody of how I had been seeing Jesus! I laughed and cried, knowing Jesus had sent me that vision to free me from my unhealthy perceptions of him. Because of my personality, I know that a vision of Jesus saying, "There, there," would never have had the same impact! Because of the vision, my spirituality and prayer life have been forever changed.
Lisa Lancaster is Chaplain/Director of Pastoral Care at Centrastate Health Care System. She and her husband live in Millstone Township, New Jersey. Lisa's story will appear in the upcoming book
Sharing Visions: Divine Revelations, Angels, and Holy Coincindences, edited by John E. Sumwalt, to be released in June by CSS Publishing Company.
Maundy Thursday Vision #2
by Sara Jan Garza
In January 1978 my first-born child, a son named Robin, died of crib death (SIDS) at the age of 13 months. I was devastated and suicidal. I felt like my son was all alone and needed me. I went to the grave every day so that he wouldn't feel so alone.
A few months later, while trying to decide whether or not to use an overdose of pills to "follow" my son to the grave, I went to the Maundy Thursday service at my church. As I knelt at the altar rail to pray, I felt the urge to open my eyes and look up.
There I saw my little boy, smiling, holding someone's hand. I was amazed to see him, and then more amazed when I heard someone's voice. I looked up and saw that it was none other than Jesus who was holding Robin's hand. He said to me, "Why are you so worried about your son? He is My son too, and I am with him. I will take care of him for you."
I have never stopped missing him, but I have the peace of knowing that Robin no longer needs me; he is well taken care of.
Sara Jan Garza is a lifelong member of First United Methodist Church in Fort Madison, Iowa. She graduated in 1999 from the School of Lay Ministry, and has been engaged in pulpit supply, preaching in churches of various denominations. Sara's story will also appear in the upcoming book Sharing Visions: Divine Revelations, Angels, and Holy Coincindences, edited by John E.Sumwalt, to be released in June by CSS Publishing Company.
Good Friday
The Power of the Cross
by Wendy Wosoba
"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds," he also adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."
Hebrews 10:16-17
As a young wife and mother and teacher, I was striving to be perfect. Every morning I would start the day with the goal of perfection. I would be the perfect wife, mother, teacher, friend. I went to bed each night as a failure. I was exhausted and, I suspect, I was on the verge of depression. Then, one Sunday morning as I entered my pew at North Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee, my whole life changed. For a brief moment, I was on the cross, hanging in front of the sanctuary.
To this day, thirty years later, I can't explain it. I don't remember any words. It was simply presence. Spirit. I knew how deeply I was loved and cared for. I didn't have to be perfect. I didn't have to prove my worthiness. The feeling of freedom was overwhelming. I don't know why I was blessed in such a way. I am forever thankful. I feel certain it saved my life.
For years I never shared this with anyone, but it was always with me. It changed the way I relate to others. Now every time I tell this story, or write about it, I am amazed at the power of the experience. It has sustained me all of these years and made my life a real joy and blessing, and yet it was so simple.
Wendy Wosoba is a retired elementary teacher, wife, mother of two, and grandmother of two. She is a member of Perseverance Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee, where she serves as an elder. Write to her at rwosoba@msn.com.
Wendy's story appears in Vision Stories: True Accounts of Visions, Angels, and Healing Miracles, edited by John E. Sumwalt (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 2002), p. 91. Vision Stories is available from CSS through their web site (www.csspub.com) or by calling 1-800-241-4056. Vision Stories is also available from Cokesbury, or many local Christian bookstores. You may read a review of Vision Stories by Tom Heinen of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel by clicking here: http://www.jsonline.com/lifestyle/religion/may02/44146.asp
John's Scrap Pile
Betrayal
... Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him.
John 13:1-2a
Has there been a Judas in your life, someone you loved and trusted who betrayed you? Most of us have experienced betrayal at one time or another. There is nothing more painful. It is almost worse than the death of a loved one. We feel deeply wounded and wonder how we can ever be healed.
Have you been able to forgive the betrayers in your life? Perhaps you don't need to. Perhaps you should think of each betrayer as a teacher and the betrayal as a gift. This is what Caroline Myss suggests in her book Why People Don't Heal And How They Can. She writes:
When you experience an apparent act of betrayal, look closely to see if it may not actually be a "Divine invitation" to let go of the old and discover the new.... Ponder the possibility that you may have already agreed in your own Garden of Gethsemane to move forward, but you needed a push to get going. The people who may seem ... to be participating in an act of betrayal are, in truth, acting out of an agreement you have already made with God. How then can you be angry with one of the Lord's messengers? There is nothing for which you need to forgive them, for they have done nothing at all to harm you.
Caroline Myss, Why People Don't Heal And How They Can (New York: Three Rivers Press, 1997), p. 82.
A Story to Live By
Last week we introduced a new periodic feature called A Story to Live By, based on the one-minute radio spots John does for our church. These stories have between 125-150 words, just long enough to use as a sermon introduction or a brief devotional at a committee meeting. Please send us your one-minute stories to share.
This week's Story to Live By was the centerpiece of our church's Easter advertising last year. We invited people to join in singing the "Hallelujah" chorus at the end of our Easter services.
Messiah
It was a Hollywood story before there was a Hollywood. His last opera a flop, his health failing, his future seemingly pointed to a debtor's prison, a London composer is unexpectedly handed a text to put to music. He locks himself in a room, some days forgetting to eat, and three weeks later finishes what will become the world's most frequently performed musical drama.
George Frederick Handel's Messiah was first presented just over 250 years ago in Dublin. After Handel had completed the "Hallelujah" chorus, a servant found him weeping. "I thought I saw all heaven before me, and the great God himself!" the composer said.
In a little room in London, Handel found an Easter miracle. Two and one half centuries later he is still sharing it. Hallelujah!
I'm John Sumwalt with a story to live by from Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church, www.waumc.org.
StoryShare, April 13-18, 2003, issue.
Copyright 2003 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
Edited by John Sumwalt and Jo Perry-Sumwalt
Contents
Palm Sunday: "Dudley the Dreary Donkey" by John Sumwalt
[index as Palm Sunday]
Maundy Thursday: "Visions" by Lisa Lancaster and Sara Jan Garza
[index as Maundy Thursday]
Good Friday: "The Power of the Cross" by Wendy Wosoba
[index as Good Friday, Cross]
John's Scrap Pile: "Betrayal"
[index as Betrayal, Judas]
A Story to Live By: "Messiah"
[index as One-Minute Stories, Handel's Messiah]
We begin this week with a Palm Sunday story told from the perspective of the donkey Jesus rode into Jerusalem. A silly idea, no doubt, and certainly not intended for serious-minded adults. The children may like it, though, and the grown-ups who enjoy overhearing the children's moment may learn something. Those looking for more traditional Holy Week fare will appreciate Wendy Wosoba's powerful vision of the cross and two intriguing Maundy Thursday visions.
Palm Sunday
Dudley the Dreary Donkey
by John Sumwalt
And when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, and said to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat; untie it and bring it."
Mark 11:1-2
Once upon a time there was a donkey named Dudley. He was known far and wide as Dudley the dreary donkey, because he always looked sad. Wherever Dudley went his head hung down and his ears drooped so low they almost dragged on the ground. Droopy ears are a sure sign of unhappiness in donkeys.
Dudley had not always been dreary. When he was little he was as happy as any donkey could be. But then, one day, Dudley had a dream. It was a special dream. Dudley knew it was special because it was unlike any other dream he had ever had before. And what's more, Dudley knew, he just knew, that his special dream was going to come true.
In the dream Dudley saw himself carrying a very important man on his back. He was the most important man in the world. And as Dudley carried him along people cheered and cheered, and they threw their coats down on the path in front of him.
When Dudley woke up, he was so sure that his special dream was going to come true that he went around and told all of his friends about it. Dudley was so excited that he thought his friends would be excited too, but they didn't seem to understand. They laughed at him and made fun of him.
After that, wherever he went the other donkeys would point at him and say, "There goes Dudley the dreamer." And that's when Dudley became dreary. But he didn't give up hope. Deep down inside, Dudley knew that someday his dream would come true. Whenever someone came to the donkey pen Dudley's ears would prick up and he would hold his breath, thinking this might be the day when his special dream would come true.
One day two men came to the donkey pen. They told the owner they wanted a donkey for a very special occasion. Immediately Dudley's ears pricked up, and he held his shoulders up high so that they would look wide and strong.
The two men looked over all of the donkeys carefully. They patted and poked and nodded and shook their heads until finally they came to Dudley. "This is the one," one of the men said to the other one. "Yes, no doubt about it," said the other man, "I think the master will be very pleased with this donkey."
Dudley could hardly contain his joy. He wanted to jump and kick and hee-haw all over the pen. But instead he just smiled to himself and walked along as if it were any ordinary day.
When they got to the edge of the city, a very wise and gentle-looking man dressed in a white robe came over and got up on Dudley's back. He patted Dudley on the head and spoke softly in his ear. "He sure doesn't act as if he were the most important man in the world," Dudley thought to himself. "Maybe this isn't the day my dream will come true after all."
But when they came into the city all the doubts left Dudley's mind. There were thousands of people lining the streets. They waved palm branches and shouted "hosanna." Some of the people threw their coats on the ground for Dudley to walk on.
Dudley held his head up high, and his ears stuck straight up toward the sky. He knew that his special dream had come true. He couldn't wait to get back to the pen and tell his friends that he had carried the most important man in the world. Now they would know that he wasn't just a dreamer, and nobody would ever again call him Dudley the dreary donkey.
Maundy Thursday
"For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly, I tell you, servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them."
John 13:15-17
Maundy Thursday Vision #1
by Lisa Lancaster
In 1985 I was struggling deeply with a very painful friendship. I was also at a time in my life where I was being overloaded with the "Christ suffered on the cross, so it is the calling of all Christians to suffer like him" sentiment. I could not make the distinction between the "cost of discipleship" and healthy self-care and self-love. Things in the friendship had come to a head for me one day. I was weeping and praying, saying, "God, I just can't do this any more! I can't stay in this friendship any more - it is tearing me apart!" Not coincidentally, this was Maundy Thursday, and I had just come from a worship service that told me more about Christ's suffering, and our call to suffer, again!
As soon as I cried out this prayer, I had an image of Christ on the cross, glaring down at me! And he said, "I'm hanging here - and you can't handle a little pain?" Almost immediately, I knew that this vision was a parody of how I had been seeing Jesus! I laughed and cried, knowing Jesus had sent me that vision to free me from my unhealthy perceptions of him. Because of my personality, I know that a vision of Jesus saying, "There, there," would never have had the same impact! Because of the vision, my spirituality and prayer life have been forever changed.
Lisa Lancaster is Chaplain/Director of Pastoral Care at Centrastate Health Care System. She and her husband live in Millstone Township, New Jersey. Lisa's story will appear in the upcoming book
Sharing Visions: Divine Revelations, Angels, and Holy Coincindences, edited by John E. Sumwalt, to be released in June by CSS Publishing Company.
Maundy Thursday Vision #2
by Sara Jan Garza
In January 1978 my first-born child, a son named Robin, died of crib death (SIDS) at the age of 13 months. I was devastated and suicidal. I felt like my son was all alone and needed me. I went to the grave every day so that he wouldn't feel so alone.
A few months later, while trying to decide whether or not to use an overdose of pills to "follow" my son to the grave, I went to the Maundy Thursday service at my church. As I knelt at the altar rail to pray, I felt the urge to open my eyes and look up.
There I saw my little boy, smiling, holding someone's hand. I was amazed to see him, and then more amazed when I heard someone's voice. I looked up and saw that it was none other than Jesus who was holding Robin's hand. He said to me, "Why are you so worried about your son? He is My son too, and I am with him. I will take care of him for you."
I have never stopped missing him, but I have the peace of knowing that Robin no longer needs me; he is well taken care of.
Sara Jan Garza is a lifelong member of First United Methodist Church in Fort Madison, Iowa. She graduated in 1999 from the School of Lay Ministry, and has been engaged in pulpit supply, preaching in churches of various denominations. Sara's story will also appear in the upcoming book Sharing Visions: Divine Revelations, Angels, and Holy Coincindences, edited by John E.Sumwalt, to be released in June by CSS Publishing Company.
Good Friday
The Power of the Cross
by Wendy Wosoba
"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds," he also adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."
Hebrews 10:16-17
As a young wife and mother and teacher, I was striving to be perfect. Every morning I would start the day with the goal of perfection. I would be the perfect wife, mother, teacher, friend. I went to bed each night as a failure. I was exhausted and, I suspect, I was on the verge of depression. Then, one Sunday morning as I entered my pew at North Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee, my whole life changed. For a brief moment, I was on the cross, hanging in front of the sanctuary.
To this day, thirty years later, I can't explain it. I don't remember any words. It was simply presence. Spirit. I knew how deeply I was loved and cared for. I didn't have to be perfect. I didn't have to prove my worthiness. The feeling of freedom was overwhelming. I don't know why I was blessed in such a way. I am forever thankful. I feel certain it saved my life.
For years I never shared this with anyone, but it was always with me. It changed the way I relate to others. Now every time I tell this story, or write about it, I am amazed at the power of the experience. It has sustained me all of these years and made my life a real joy and blessing, and yet it was so simple.
Wendy Wosoba is a retired elementary teacher, wife, mother of two, and grandmother of two. She is a member of Perseverance Presbyterian Church in Milwaukee, where she serves as an elder. Write to her at rwosoba@msn.com.
Wendy's story appears in Vision Stories: True Accounts of Visions, Angels, and Healing Miracles, edited by John E. Sumwalt (Lima, Ohio: CSS Publishing Company, 2002), p. 91. Vision Stories is available from CSS through their web site (www.csspub.com) or by calling 1-800-241-4056. Vision Stories is also available from Cokesbury, or many local Christian bookstores. You may read a review of Vision Stories by Tom Heinen of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel by clicking here: http://www.jsonline.com/lifestyle/religion/may02/44146.asp
John's Scrap Pile
Betrayal
... Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas son of Simon Iscariot to betray him.
John 13:1-2a
Has there been a Judas in your life, someone you loved and trusted who betrayed you? Most of us have experienced betrayal at one time or another. There is nothing more painful. It is almost worse than the death of a loved one. We feel deeply wounded and wonder how we can ever be healed.
Have you been able to forgive the betrayers in your life? Perhaps you don't need to. Perhaps you should think of each betrayer as a teacher and the betrayal as a gift. This is what Caroline Myss suggests in her book Why People Don't Heal And How They Can. She writes:
When you experience an apparent act of betrayal, look closely to see if it may not actually be a "Divine invitation" to let go of the old and discover the new.... Ponder the possibility that you may have already agreed in your own Garden of Gethsemane to move forward, but you needed a push to get going. The people who may seem ... to be participating in an act of betrayal are, in truth, acting out of an agreement you have already made with God. How then can you be angry with one of the Lord's messengers? There is nothing for which you need to forgive them, for they have done nothing at all to harm you.
Caroline Myss, Why People Don't Heal And How They Can (New York: Three Rivers Press, 1997), p. 82.
A Story to Live By
Last week we introduced a new periodic feature called A Story to Live By, based on the one-minute radio spots John does for our church. These stories have between 125-150 words, just long enough to use as a sermon introduction or a brief devotional at a committee meeting. Please send us your one-minute stories to share.
This week's Story to Live By was the centerpiece of our church's Easter advertising last year. We invited people to join in singing the "Hallelujah" chorus at the end of our Easter services.
Messiah
It was a Hollywood story before there was a Hollywood. His last opera a flop, his health failing, his future seemingly pointed to a debtor's prison, a London composer is unexpectedly handed a text to put to music. He locks himself in a room, some days forgetting to eat, and three weeks later finishes what will become the world's most frequently performed musical drama.
George Frederick Handel's Messiah was first presented just over 250 years ago in Dublin. After Handel had completed the "Hallelujah" chorus, a servant found him weeping. "I thought I saw all heaven before me, and the great God himself!" the composer said.
In a little room in London, Handel found an Easter miracle. Two and one half centuries later he is still sharing it. Hallelujah!
I'm John Sumwalt with a story to live by from Wauwatosa Avenue United Methodist Church, www.waumc.org.
StoryShare, April 13-18, 2003, issue.
Copyright 2003 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., P.O. Box 4503, Lima, Ohio 45802-4503.
