Garden of Gethsemane, Mount of Olives

The gospels record Jesus and His disciples came here to pray the night before His Passion. Ancient broad leafed olive branches hid them from the soldiers who wanted to capture Jesus with open ground or even a cave to protect them from the elements. 

I look out my upstairs window, seeing a forest today, its tree tops anchored ahead of the rising moon, lighting a path below. It is my place of Gethsemane in this time of turmoil and uncertainty, my place of deep prayer to the Father, asking for strength to follow the Father’s will, to be alone with Him in my time of sorrow and concern.

Jesus was with others, but He separated himself to become one with His Father.  During my time of separateness I too want to be alone with the Father, to pray deeply, to become one with Him, to acknowledge what may happen, to accept His will for me.

Unlike the Pharisees and Scribes in prayer, Jesus fell to His knees, acknowledging for us humility in prayer. How can one do that when my always prayer is: “Here I am, Lord…”?  Sacrificing self is always  hardest, yet Jesus did it because of His love for others, giving us an example of true love.

Prayer, according to William Barclay,  is: “ the ability to accept and in acceptance,  to transform…In Gethsemane he prayed the cup might pass from him,…in prayer he found the ability to accept and transform the agony of the Cross leading to the glory of the Resurrection.” 

 Jesus tells us, “ I go before you along this path that is beset with so many fears.  Hold on to my cloak, receive me in spiritual communion, help one another.”

With prayer we are given the ability to bear whatever is to come. Prayer then is not escape, however much we wish, but makes one able to pass the breaking point and not break, to not reject God, but accept our path, hopefully leading to our new life with Jesus.

This time in history is our Cross. How we bear it will determine if we will be among Christ’s disciples.  “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” Our cross is our acceptance of sorrow and misfortune, becoming a participant in the mystery of Redemption. When love is present, behind death is life, and prayer gives us strength to endure. 

With our Gethsemane today Christ’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection becomes so very real and one cannot be indifferent to the Cross. Let us kneel in prayer. Amen.