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...And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw,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...And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw,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:
Jesus is afraid.
It's dark. He knows the soldiers are coming. And His friends are asleep. It will be the last time He sees them before they abandon Him. He knows their betrayal is only minutes away.
But He doesn't accuse. He doesn't lecture. Instead, He chooses to pray. He prays for His sleeping friends, and for everyone who would believe in Him from that point on.
We also know that He begged for an exit. "Father, if You are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from Me. Yet, I want Your will, not Mine." Luke 22:42
If He could have, He would have turned His head back on the whole mess. But He didn't.
He didn't because He saw you. Right there in the middle of a world that isn't fair. He say 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.
He had made His decision. He would rather go to hell for you than go to heaven without you.
Paraphrased from He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado.
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 fear.
Gethsemane has come 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, but 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 important 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 looked at myself as 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
13 comments:
Thank you for putting it all into perspective. And God bless...
He saw me right in the middle of a world that isn't fair... he hung on for my eventual release and victory over the suffering in my life. Praise be to God for the gift of his marvelous grace. His "looking down the road" to see me is a powerful visual to transform my thinking today.
peace~elaine
Thank you for sharing this wonderful post. I am so thankful Jesus followed God's plan and went to the cross so He could redeem us. I am also so thankful He did save me and is re-creating me. Thank you Jesus.
Blessings
Visiting friends to drop a prayer. And also to thank you for always being there for me in Spirit. I don't like to rush when I read your post sister Lidj so I have to come back later and savor the Truth here! I have to run a few errands but I want to let you know how much I appreciate your friendship, prayers and well-wishes. My back has never felt stronger knowing that there are so many bros/sisters praying for me as I go through this battle at work. To God be the glory!
Blessings and love to you.
Hi Lidj,
Wonderful!
When I think about what Jesus went through for us I become over whelmed and sometimes I cannot force myself to think about it. To think, He gave up all for us and willingly took our punishment. He knows how we feel yet He overcame, this is something only God could do for we could never ever accomplish this.
Good post!
God bless,
<><
Dear Lidj,
I had a long talk with one of my closest friends yesterday. We talked about our common friends, how God has poslished them into shining diamonds. We both agreed that if our will had been done, nothing of this would have happened; No broken marriages, no cancer and dead husbands, no family conflicts, no ill children or deteriorating earthy hut.
We agreed that our most treasured friends, were those who had been tried hardest.
Even so, I find it hard to pray," thy will be done."
The "Old Eve" is so hard to conquer.
We also agreed on, that in our darkest hours, we spent most time on our knees, and his greatness was revealed to us in a special way.
It's no contradictions in these facts. Even Jesus prayed harder, so hard he even sweat blood, when he was facing the ordeal of his life on earth.
He is th way, the truth and the light.
From Felisol
I remember last year you had lovely devotions together with photos of a lovely grden with sculptures.
This post hit me hard!
Love,
Yolanda
Beautiful.
Thank you. A reminder that He was fully human. a fulfilling of the promise, giving His blood (that we may drink of it), and receive Eternal life.
Innocent
thanks Lidj for this and for me what hit most was "I thanked Jesus for going through it all, for me. I thanked Him for what I have become." He really does make all the difference.
First of all, I am humbled by your words of praise. Thank you. You are such an inspiration for me and so many others. I would say "God bless you", but you and I know He has already has done that, hasn't He? Thank you for all you do and for all you mean to me and others.
That scene in the garden - it shows so much of what Christ did for me. So many times as a child I cried in the dark out of fear - but compared to what Jesus cried out for, it is nothing. I cannot fully grasp the pain, the sacrifice, the fear knowing what he was going to do. I know in child-birth, I always thought, "in just 24 hours, it will be over." And that sustained me. Jesus knew the first-hand power and love of heaven in a way I cannot fathom yet. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. And He loved more than I can quite wrap my heart around. Yet, in the garden, He battled fear - like me, just bigger and more important. It leaves me humbled, yet so incredibly loved.
Lidj,
I have been away and am far, far behind on reading blogs, but I want to read all of these. This was so beautiful and I can't wait to read the rest. Blessings to you.
Leah
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