The Garden of Sacrifice – 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

Gethsemane.  There were few gardens in Jerusalem; there was not much space in a city crowded on a hill.  King Herod had a pleasure garden down in the Kidron valley near the Pool of Shiloam, and I would imagine there must have been a garden of sorts for Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor.  And a few gardens perhaps on the Mount of Olives where the rich relaxed.

But there was one garden on the hillside that Jesus knew.  A garden where Jesus and the disciples often met.  A lovely thought, Jesus and the disciples enjoying quiet moments under ancient olive trees, maybe even picnicking in the sun, away from the turmoil and noise of the crowded city and the demands of the people.  The downside was that Judas knew where to find him.

Luke says in chapter 22 verse 39 that after supper they ‘went out as usual’ to Gethsemane, a garden of olive trees on the western slope of the Mount of Olives.  We don’t know who owned it, maybe a secret disciple.  There must have been many other unnamed helpers – the owner of the garden, the one who lent Jesus the donkey, the owner of the Upper Room, and surely many others.  People whose names we will never know, but men and women who had the privilege of doing something for Jesus, maybe even people who gave Jesus the inspiration for the story of the Good Samaritan.  People who didn’t walk by on the other side of the road but stopped and listened and helped.  We thank God for the unnamed helpers who have influenced our lives, and there are many for all of us – people willing to contribute in quiet ways, to listen when others were too busy to help with the routine and unglamorous jobs within church life.

What must it have been like to be alive at that time and live to see everything first-hand.  Thomas needed to see and touch the risen Christ and so Jesus met him at his point of need, just as he does with us.  We might all wish we had been there with him but we cannot choose the time or place of our birth.  We are believers in spite of not having seen him.  We believe in hope of things to come.  We see a mix of the Kingdom of God here and now.  Did they all believe when they saw the miraculous?  It is doubtful because some will always choose to disbelieve the evidence in front of them, even when there were miracles day after day.  It is our choice, whether to be with him and believe.

Prayer

Lord, we cannot change the timing of our birth.  We cannot predict what will be and how life will end, but whatever comes let it be with you.  Set us on fire again with that first love for you, our Messiah.  Lift our hopes out of the dust and bring us to life in all its fullness.

Amen.

Penny Bonham