Christ on a Donkey (Henri Nouwen)

    Christ on a Donkey, in the Augustiner Museum in Freiburg, is one of the most moving Christ figures I know… 

    Christ’s long, slender face with a high forehead, inward-looking eyes, long hair, and a small forked beard expresses the mystery of his suffering in a way that holds me spellbound. As he rides into Jerusalem surrounded by people shouting “hosanna,” “cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in his path” (Matt. 21:8), Jesus appears completely concentrated on something else. He does not look at the excited crowd. He does not wave. He sees beyond all the noise and movement to what is ahead of him: an agonizing journey of betrayal, torture, crucifixion, and death. His unfocused eyes see what nobody around him can see; his high forehead reflects a knowledge of things to come far beyond anyone’s understanding. There is melancholy, but also peaceful acceptance. There is insight into the fickleness of the human heart, but also immense compassion. There is deep awareness of the unspeakable pain to be suffered, but also a strong determination to do God’s will. Above all, there is love, an endless, deep, and far-reaching love born from an unbreakable intimacy with God and reaching out to all people, wherever they are, were, or will be. There is nobody whom he does not fully love. 

    Every time I look at this Christ on the donkey, I am reminded again that I am seen by him with all my sins, guilt, and shame and loved with all his forgiveness, mercy, and compassion. 

    Just being with him in the Augustiner Museum is a prayer. I look and look and look, and I know that he sees the depths of my heart; I do not have to be afraid. 

PRAYER 

 Almighty God,
today we pay homage to Christ in his victory.
With songs of praise
we accompany him into his holy city;
grant that we may come
 to the heavenly Jerusalem through him
who lives and reigns with you to all eternity. 

--Henri Nouwen

Image source: Christus auf dem Palmesel, Upper Rhine (1350-1360). For this and a further collection of Palmesel, go to:  https://artandtheology.org/2026/03/13/the-palmesel-palm-donkey-a-holy-week-tradition-from-medieval-germany/
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