{"id":5244,"date":"2019-03-16T08:00:29","date_gmt":"2019-03-16T00:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=5244"},"modified":"2021-10-15T16:38:14","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T08:38:14","slug":"220-gethsemane-joy-and-sorrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=5244","title":{"rendered":"220. Gethsemane: Joy and Sorrow"},"content":{"rendered":"

36\u00a0<\/sup>Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, \u201cSit here while I go over there and pray.\u201d\u00a037\u00a0<\/sup>He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated.\u00a038\u00a0<\/sup>Then he said to them, \u201cI am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.\u201d\u00a039\u00a0<\/sup>And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, \u201cMy Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.\u201d\u00a040\u00a0<\/sup>Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, \u201cSo, could you not stay awake with me one hour?\u00a041\u00a0<\/sup>Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial;[a<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.\u201d <\/strong><\/span>[Matthew 26:36-41<\/span>, NRSV<\/em>]<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0<\/a>\"\"\u00a0<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

1. Small sculpture in Garden of Olives depicting Jesus praying on a rock; 2. The Church of All Nations; 3. The Rock of Agony inside church.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the final day of our pilgrimage trip, we spent the morning at the Mount of Olives, visiting the Garden of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations, and celebrating Mass in the church at 8:00 AM.<\/span><\/p>\n

The garden proudly claims to have very old olive trees \u2013 hundreds and even a few thousand years old. At one corner of the garden, there is a small but stunning sculpture of Jesus praying on a rock. It conjures up an image of intense emotions in desperate prayers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Known also as the Basilica of the Agony, this church was built between 1919 and 1924 from funds donated from many different countries \u2013 hence its name \u201cChurch of All Nations\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

The church famously enshrines a section of the bedrock where traditionally Jesus is believed to have prayed before his arrest (Mark 14:32-42).<\/span><\/p>\n

At the final Mass which we celebrated within the fenced in sanctuary area of the church, Jeff was invited to give a reflection which is reproduced below.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflection<\/u><\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n

After the Last Supper at the Upper Room, Jesus walked with his disciples towards the Mount of Olives, crossed the Kidron Valley, and reached the Garden of Gethsemane. There in the garden, deeply troubled and sorrowful as he sensed his imminent suffering and death, Jesus prayed and agonized.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the rock of agony, where we are right now, Saint Luke says Jesus\u2019 \u201csweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground\u201d (Luke 22:44). And so, at crisis-time, at a life-changing moment in the earthly life of Jesus of Nazareth, he struggled, cried, prayed, agonized, and sweat blood right here.<\/span><\/p>\n

I would like, if I may, to propose three points for reflection.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. First, we look at Jesus: How did Jesus handle his crisis situation?<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

At Gethsemane, Jesus was confronted by the most basic question: He preached love<\/em>, but confronted by his own life-crisis, what should that love<\/em> be guided by? This is crunch time; this is concrete; this is real life.<\/span><\/p>\n

You see, Jesus is so conscious of his mission of love. He has preached that we should love God and love neighbour as the first commandment<\/em> in all that we do. \u201cSeek ye first the kingdom of God,\u201d he urged unreservedly. He therefore put God\u2019s compassion for the human person before the Law<\/u><\/em>, unlike the religious leaders whose religious practices insisted that the Law must be prioritized<\/u><\/em> before the human person. For Jesus, then, the human person, the child of God that is, is infinitely more important than the law, so that he would by words and actions insist that \u201cthe Sabbath is made for man and not man for the Sabbath\u201d (Mark 2:27). That, of course, seriously upset the status quo in the religious system, prompting the religious leaders to plot to kill him. At Gethsemane, Jesus knew that his suffering death was near, and Scriptures say he was \u201cgreatly distressed and troubled\u201d, \u201cvery sorrowful even to death\u201d (Matthew 26:13-14; Mark 14:33-34). He was filled with fear for what he sensed was coming. He desired the suffering cup to pass from him.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, Jesus also knew that to do God\u2019s work, he needed to be liberated from this fear. He must move from fear to freedom \u2013 freedom to love, till the very end<\/em><\/strong>. He must show his disciples the way, the Christian way, in testing times. That way is to sweat out our faithfulness again, through tears, pain, agony, prayer and sweat of blood. That prayer must always begin with our identity, where God is \u201cFather\u201d, which immediately recognizes ourselves as \u201csons and daughters\u201d. And it must always end in a willing and humble submission to God\u2019s will, despite our human nature to run away from pain \u2013 \u201cnot my will, but your will be done<\/em><\/strong>\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

To submit to God\u2019s will involves making sacrifices, ultimately with your life if necessary. To really love, Jesus has shown, is to make sacrifices; that is agape love. To love is to move from pain to hope, from darkness to light, from death to new life. Then, we shall accept that pain and suffering is always part of the journey of life. Pain is always part of the path of Christian life –\u00a0a love-centered spiritual path.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Second, we look at the disciples: What were the disciples instructed by Jesus to do?<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Jesus repeatedly turned to the three apostles, Peter, James and John, who represent us, and instructed them to do two things: watch and pray<\/em><\/strong>. Why? So that we do not give in to temptations and do bad things.<\/span><\/p>\n

What do the two words \u201cwatch and pray\u201d imply?<\/span><\/p>\n

To pray is to attend to the vertical dimension.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n