GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 11:3
Trigger
When we were young, our family lived on a farm in Southern Illinois. Our father bought a pony for my two younger brothers and me, which we named Trigger. No one had ever ridden the pony, so it was up to us to “break” him—to train him to accept a saddle and rider. At first, our dad held the pony’s reins while we rode him. After a few days, he let us try riding him on our own. But Trigger would buck us off and run away, forcing Dad to chase him down. It took a while, but eventually Trigger settled down, and we could ride him without getting thrown off.
In St. Mark’s account of Jesus’ final trip to Jerusalem, he sent two unnamed disciples to fetch a colt—one on which no one had ever sat, not unlike Trigger. “And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it, and immediately he will send it back here again.’” (Mark 11:3) Throughout the story, there is an unnamed colt who, contrary to its nature, accepted a strange rider for the first time—something Trigger refused to do.
There are several ambiguities in Mark’s brief account. One concerns the ancient practice of “impressment,” a right held by government officials and rabbis. By this custom, such officials could commandeer property—like this colt—at will.
Without, I hope, stretching the analogy too far, many anonymous people have carried burdens for Jesus without throwing him off, much like this unsung colt. It would have been nice if Trigger had been more like that colt. I suppose the choice before us is whether to be like the colt or like Trigger in the Master’s service.
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