Jesus in the garden

Week 4: Weekend

Reading

Matthew 26.36-46

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. Then he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.’ And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.’ Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ Again he went away for the second time and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.’ Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.’

Reflection

Like those of the prophets who have come before him, Jesus’ journey involves deep and quiet pain as much as it involves feats of power and miracles. We return today to the scene of Jesus in the quiet of the Garden of Gethsemane. He needs support, but his friends are asleep. He is in deep distress, his soul being “deeply grieved, even to death”. This time of quiet is not quiet at all. It is the place of agony for Jesus, and we see his most vulnerable humanity on display.

Black Spirituality speaks powerfully of the aloneness and grief that attends the suffering soul. Places that have seen unspeakable suffering – former slave plantations, genocide camps – emit a deep quiet, because words cannot express the terrible histories they hold. But even in such places, though quiet, God is never absent.

Watch

Reflect on how whole communities dwell in paid in our world.

...and pray

for deeper empathy and compassion within our churches.

Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council 2024.