Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives
as He was accustomed, and His disciples
also followed Him.
...And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw,
and He knelt down and prayed, saying,
"Father if it is Your will,
take this cup away from Me,
nevertheless not My will,
but Yours be done."
Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven,
strengthening Him.
And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.
Then His sweat became like great drops of blood
falling down to the ground.
Luke 22:39-44
as He was accustomed, and His disciples
also followed Him.
...And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw,
and He knelt down and prayed, saying,
"Father if it is Your will,
take this cup away from Me,
nevertheless not My will,
but Yours be done."
Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven,
strengthening Him.
And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.
Then His sweat became like great drops of blood
falling down to the ground.
Luke 22:39-44
The Garden.
This was the first station of the cross in the walkway.
As I stood in front of the big black board between two large mirrors, these were the words I read:
Immediately so many thoughts came to my mind.
Often I forget that Jesus came to earth as a man, capable of the same emotions that I go through. And here he was in the garden, battling with fear.
Gethsemane has become to be such a beautiful word for me. It means olive press. A huge stone used to crush olives to let the oil flow out.
It was a heavy stone, and this is what it must have been like for Jesus...He must have felt like being under a "gethsemane."
I thought of the first garden where a similar battle had taken place. Adam and Eve were being offered life, and they chose death.
In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus fought another battle. He knew what was ahead. He wanted to give up.
Jesus knew He would be betrayed. And then literally tortured to death.
Nevertheless not My will, but Yours be done.
His words of humble submission. One of the imporrtant steps He took to redeem the choice made at the first garden thousands of years ago. This time the choice of Jesus brings life, not death.
He could have given up, but He didn't.
Why didn't He?
The words on the board strike my heart:
He didn't because He saw you.
Right there in the middle of a world that isn't fair.
He saw you betrayed by those you love - in your own garden of gnarled trees and sleeping friends.
He saw you and He didn't want you to be alone.
What a crushing weight it must have been! I will never know what it was like for Jesus to have the weight of the whole world placed upon Him.
Sadly I must admit that I have often taken this for granted. But that morning, on April 1, I had an opportunity to remember what it was like.
The instruction was to look at one of the large mirrors beside the first station in the Walkway.
I stood in front of the mirror.
There was a time when that person standing in front of me was younger. Full of dreams and aspirations. Many years have gone by.
Many of my dreams have not come to pass.
I tried to look back at the wrong things loved ones have done to me.
Unkind words.
Negative attitudes.
False judgments.
Promises that have been made by close family members, and still remain unfulfilled to this day.
I remembered some of the wounds that these loved ones have inflicted upon my heart, and even upon the heart of my husband who is now resting in peace...
Most of these wounds have healed and forgiveness released, so in remembering them, there was only a little numb ache...
Nevertheless, as I looked back, some pain, and fear... came back to the surface.
There was no anger, only a little sadness. Tears came to my eyes.
And it just felt so comforting to know that Someone knows exactly how I felt!
I looked at myself, in the present tense...
"Father, this is who I am, and who I have become.
Many of the things that have happened in my life story are not what I dreamed of. But You are the One who created me... and re-creating me.
Turning the ashes of my life into a crown of beauty, pouring the oil of gladness upon my heart, giving me a garment of praise to replace the spirit of despair...
Always giving hope, always giving life..."
As I knelt on the grass beside the mirrors, I thanked Jesus for going through it all, for me. I thanked Him for what I have become.
The rest of my life story is being written by Him!
And my heart was filled anew with hope. I will go forward into the future. Much of it is unknown, but I already have an idea of what it will be like.
It will be glorious, and it will be beautiful.
Walkway Reflections: Introduction
Woundedness: Life Out of Death
Gethsemane
No comments:
Post a Comment