If he had ridden in on a horse, like some conquering king, he never would have been crucified. But he rode in on a donkey, a sign of peace. And it was a donkey that had never been ridden, which was fitting because the kind of peace Jesus brought had never been offered before. It was a peace between God and man at the cost of God’s dignity.

The Life—Creator of all things (John 1:3)—offered himself to go through the violence of birth and the harsh sentence of living, only to die. Life itself suffered death, so that we could live again; fall into our Father’s waiting arms. As has been said, love held Jesus on that cross.
I’m tired of telling people how to be good people. When I do it, I feel like I’m preying on the low self-esteem of those who just want to do the right thing and are berated for inevitably failing. When I tell them how to do the right thing in the right way, I’m just preaching the law to those in need of grace. Sometimes I feel like I’m just encouraging the lie that if people get their acts together, God might deign to throw some acceptance their way.

When you grew up with the idea that you had to work your fingers to the bone or God would be displeased, it’s really difficult to shift that way of thinking. No matter how much good theology you throw at it. So it's like rediscovering the Good News every day.