Thursday, February 7, 2008

February's Newsletter Reflection

One of the most moving scenes in all the gospels is of Jesus praying in the garden of Gethsemane in the hours before he is to be betrayed, unfairly tried, beaten, mocked, and crucified. Jesus asks his disciples to stay and pray with him, for the sorrow weighed upon him so heavily. He prayed to the Father: “My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want…I’m ready. Do it your way.” Yet throughout this time of prayer and sorrow, the disciples kept falling asleep. Jesus became frustrated with the disciples, and tried to wake them several times. “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? There is part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part of you that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”

I wonder what would have happened had the disciples stayed awake with Jesus that night. The time of prayer in the garden helped strengthen and prepare Jesus for the terrible events that would follow. Perhaps time spent praying with Jesus in the garden would have readied the disciples as well. Would they have been strengthened to stay with him in his suffering and death? We’ll never know. However, the events of the crucifixion were too awful for them to bear, and they hit the road. Even Peter, who swore his undying loyalty, deserted his Lord.

The season of Lent offers modern disciples a chance to spend time praying in the garden with Jesus. We, after all, have the advantage of overhearing the prayers of Jesus while the first disciples struggled to keep their eyes open. The prayers of Jesus in the garden remind us that the suffering of Jesus was real and terrifying, but yet his suffering and death had a purpose, and was part of the Father’s mission to reconcile humankind to God’s self. In the cross, the crucified One took on our guilt, sin, separation, and death only to give us his righteousness, forgiveness, honor, acceptance, and life.

What does it mean to “spend time in the garden” with Jesus? We pray, we worship, we listen and look to the events of the cross. We acknowledge our role in the events that took place. We (humankind) would not accept the forgiveness and new life that Jesus offered us in his lifetime, so we had him killed. When we turn our attention to the cross and turn not from our guilt and not from the shame and pain he underwent for us, a funny thing happens. We see the love of God displayed most clearly in the cross. He gave everything, stopped at nothing – all to make us his. Though we were sinners, Christ died for us.

This page
below lists opportunities for you “spend time in the garden” – that is, to study and worship during Lent.

No comments:

 

Free Blog Counter