Slices
Prepare
Pray: ‘Lord, let my spirit be willing to meet you now. Amen.’
Bible passage
Gethsemane
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,’ he said to them. ‘Stay here and keep watch.’
35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 ‘Abba, Father,’ he said, ‘everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.’
37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. ‘Simon,’ he said to Peter, ‘are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’
39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.
41 Returning the third time, he said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 42 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!’
Explore
Where do you go when the ground underneath you feels like it can’t hold your weight, when your feelings are too much and you think your heart may fail from the pressure of keeping your body going? In this hour of torment, when Luke tells us that Jesus’ anguish produced sweat like drops of blood (Luke 22:44), CCTV would have shown him alone, at a distance from his sleepy friends. But three times he had taken himself off, not to be alone, but to be with his father.
What stops us doing the same? Why do we find it easier to talk about God than to him? Why do we put so much faith in frail human friends to keep watch with us in our darkest nights, though ‘he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep’ (Psalm 121:4)?
I suggest three reasons. First, we know he can take the cup away, but may not do so. Secondly, this being the case, we would rather our will not his be done. Thirdly, God is often ostensibly silent, even in Gethsemane.
Jesus chose to take his dreadful sorrow to God. We don’t know what passed between them, only that he was ready to take on the betrayal, humiliation and gruesome pain of the cross when the hour came.
Respond
Whether you have prayed through the pain in the past or not, come to your heavenly Abba now and tell him the worst of it. He is with you. He will bear it with you.
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Judges 1,2; Romans 16
Pray for Scripture Union
Producing our Bible reading guides, Encounter with God and Daily Bread, involves many people with different skills – writers, editors, content assistants and external suppliers. Pray that they will combine effectively to produce guides which will encourage readers in their faith.
