32 They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. 34 And he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” 35 And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 He said, “Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.” 37 He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? 38 Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mark 14:32-38, NRSV)
Jesus in Garden of Gethsemane, 19th century mosaic in Upper Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, Lourdes.
Fear is one of the most basic instincts of every living creature. An animal without fear may become some predator’s dinner. Fear can be an intensely unpleasant emotion when one’s physical safety and psychological well-being are threatened. Fear generates physiological changes and causes behavioural reactions. Fear arising from a perception of danger may prompt an immediate decision to run and escape, to give up on what one is doing. It may impair or curtail one’s ability to even move well; an extreme case of this is a “freeze-response” or paralysis.
Quite unexpectedly, the story of Gu Ailing (Eileen Gu), the American-born Chinese athlete who gained phenomenal popularity in the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, offers some insights into fear and response.
A champion with two gold and one silver medals at Beijing 2022, she is the “genius girl” by all accounts and now an Olympic icon with her medals and her winning ways in treating people. But she is also an 18-year-old girl who gets scared and sheds tears. In a letter, she talks about the journey of growing up. Her catchphrase is: “Fear drives me forward.”
- Gu has been a prodigy since childhood, setting records on the snow like none other before her. Back in 2012 when she was 9 years old, Gu claimed her first gold at a youth group match. She became the first freeskier to win two golds at the FIS Freeski World Championship 2021 in Aspen. She actually competed without poles due to a broken hand, having fractured a finger and tearing the UCL in her thumb. Like every athlete, she has hurt herself during training, and today, she says, “you can still see me being afraid, before executing a new movement successfully.” But, there’s something else which she says that is very important: “I’m more afraid of not trying at all and setting a limit on myself.” At Beijing 2022, to clinch her first gold, she elevated higher than usual on her final jump, made four and a half turns in the air and achieved the first left turn 1620 spin by a female. This was her first Winter Olympics and she was a little afraid. She has always wanted to keep in mind to enjoy the competition and never forget to have fun. This is something she loves. “It is the thrill and excitement brought by fear that turns me on all the time. But fear inspires me to fight… I do fear, but I desire it more.” Fear inspires her to fight for her goal, her mission. There is strength generated by positive human spirit, despite fear. Behind her medals, we see hardship, falls, injuries, and setbacks that come with the sport she has chosen. True champions hide their bruises and years of pain and stress inside. She knows what it takes to become an Olympic champion. At such a young age, she is an inspiration to the young generation to work hard towards achieving healthy dreams.
Her vision aligned to fun and the goal of personal-excellence, Gu’s insight of fear driving her forward may be a positive encouragement to young people across the globe. But to discover further dimensions of fear pushing us forward along our life mission, we need to turn to the Bible for inspiration. There, the iconic event of Jesus praying and agonizing in the Garden of Gethsemane is loaded with Christian insights on fear management (Matt. 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-46; John 12:27, 14:31).
At Gethsemane, the suffering humanity in the full human-nature of Jesus of Nazareth was on full display.
- Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ begins in Gethsemane. The Son of God, in his humanity, was greatly distressed and troubled and was trembling in fear. The disciples were shocked. They would later learn that Jesus’ struggles speak to life’s challenges in their own mission. The words used in the Gospel narratives denote the most entire dejection, anguish, and horror of mind; the state of one surrounded with sorrows, overwhelmed with miseries, and almost swallowed up with terror and dismay. Jesus became sorrowful, and never ceased to be so till he breathed his last. Scriptures reveal something that ties Jesus to each one of us, that is, fear and sorrows keep one human.
- Fear can suffocate our dreams and will keep many good leaders from becoming great leaders. For Jesus, as it is for us all, being “chosen” is one thing; actually doing the work of the chosen is hard. His response to suffering and death-threat at this time is not what God wants to see, but he has to make the decision to go forward, in freedom. God does not force him. Running away is not the right option for the Chosen One. The eternal future of the people is at stake. He must serve God and humanity to the end, to love to the end, and commit to a full and free obedience to the vision of God for humanity, whatever the cost.
- Clearly feeling overwhelming sadness and anguish, Jesus fell down and prayed and his sweat became like drops of blood (Luke 22:44). It shows the vehemence of his mind and fervour of spirit in his prayer. Abraham fell on his face (Gen 17:17); so did Moses and Aaron (Num 16:22, 45). Prostration was ordinarily used in great passions. There, in utter distress, Jesus prayed for the removal of the suffering cup: “Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what thou wilt” (Mark 14:36). Here, the Gospel narrative bears witness to the profound relationship Jesus maintains with the God who has called him into a life of kingdom-mission. That relationship is transparent and utterly truthful and honest.
- The cup denotes bitter sufferings. There is nothing inconsistent in supposing that, as true man, Jesus was deeply affected by his sorrows. Under great sufferings, he expressed what his human nature desired. That was what his expression of his will meant, as it naturally shrank in fear from sufferings and sought deliverance. Yet he sought to do the will of God; he chose rather that the higher purpose of God should be done. Even in that state, a state of acute fear and moral loneliness, Jesus freely chose to bend his human will to the will of God, to live a noble and beautiful human life no matter what (cf. the Dutch New Catechism, p.281), so that God’s purpose would at all costs not be abandoned from regard to the fears of his human nature. Thus Jesus made clear, there is no mission without submission.
- In this he has left us with a model of prayer in times of human affliction. In the first step, he revealed to his Father what his natural flesh would crave, if it might comply with the will of God. In the second step he begged that, whatsoever his flesh craved, yet the will of God might be done. And herein he set us a perfect pattern for our prayers for deliverance from temporal evils, which in the first place is to come to God honestly, without reservation, and pour out our hearts to God. But this should be done with a proviso which, according to Jesus, is a submission to the will of God and not to insist on our wishes. In the most profound way, Jesus at Gethsemane teaches that it is right, in times of calamity, to seek deliverance. But the higher calling of us all is ultimately to submit to the will of the merciful God.
- Truly human, Jesus’ faith-filled conviction of the meaningfulness of his death did not spare him the desire to escape the pain, the ignominy, the darkness which his trial and crucifixion would inflict upon him. He is not one “who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but one who, like us, has been tested in every way” (Heb 4:15). As Jesus persevered in confidence in God’s wisdom and saving presence in the midst of his darkest emotional strain, the Gospels disclose that both profound fear and deep trust of Abba touched Jesus deeply in this last hour of his earthly journey. We ought to see Jesus at Gethsemane as primarily a lesson of struggle from fear to freedom. The itinerary marks a movement from fear and weakness, to faith and greater strength, and selflessness. Truly, “although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” (Heb 5:8-9).
- At the end of the day, Jesus in Gethsemane leaves us with lessons which we cannot sidestep. To keep a tough commitment, we often have to be willing to sweat blood in the garden. To stay true to what God is asking of us, we may have to make decisions for value which more often than not goes against every emotion in our heart. The Gospels present Jesus as knowing that pain and suffering is part of the kingdom-path, but human fear stands in the way, for the very human and natural path is to run away from pain. To do the Father’s will, to offer love and reconciliation, to reveal God’s intentions for the wayward creation, Jesus has to get from fear to freedom, and thus ultimately from fear to peace. Where freedom is lacking, mission stalls. Embracing freedom will always be costly. Praying, agonising, sweating blood are all part of that mission-journey.
Copyright © Dr. Jeffrey & Angie Goh, March 2022. All rights reserved.
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