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| Image by Tony Armstrong-Sly |
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A GREETING
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;
my eye wastes away from grief, my soul and body also.
(Psalm 31:9)
A READING
They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.’ And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, ‘Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.’ He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. He came a third time and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.’
(Mark 14:32-42)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
My heart is in anguish within me, the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
(Psalm 55:4)
A POEM
The grass never sleeps.
Or the roses.
Nor does the lily have a secret eye that shuts until morning.
Jesus said, wait with me. But the disciples slept.
The cricket has such splendid fringe on its feet,
and it sings, have you noticed, with its whole body,
and heaven knows if it ever sleeps.
Jesus said, wait with me. And maybe the stars did, maybe the wind wound itself
into a silver tree, and didn't move, maybe
the lake far away, where once he walked as on a
blue pavement,
lay still and waited, wild awake.
Oh the dear bodies, slumped and eye-shut, that could not
keep that vigil, how they must have wept,
so utterly human, knowing this too
must be a part of the story.
- "Gethsemane," from Thirst by Mary Oliver
VERSE OF THE DAY
Then he said to them all, ‘If any want to become my followers,
let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
(Luke 9:23)
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| Image by Tony Armstrong-Sly |
Maundy Thursday holds many stories: the last meal of Jesus and his friends, the washing of feet, the time in the garden, the betrayal by Judas, the arrest and the denial of Peter all belong to this day. Sitting at the heart of the storytelling is Gethsemane: Jesus urges his friends to stay awake and keep watch for him as he prays one more time.
Yesterday we reflected on the quiet moment Jesus takes with God in which he more peaceably asks for the wellbeing and protection of his friends. In today’s prayer, Jesus is much more agitated and feeling the anguish of impending suffering. He now petitions God to take that suffering away, while at the same time he is surrendered to it.
Jesus wants the disciples to stay awake and be alert and protective of him. We can understand the overwhelmed and very human experience of needing to sleep in the midst of turmoil and impending horror. It is perhaps a defensive reaction of the body and soul, as much as a reflection of needing rest, to withdraw into sleep. At the same time, by sleeping the disciples miss the most acute moment of Jesus’ pre-Crucifixion suffering.
The time Jesus spends in Gethsemane in lonely anguish brings forward perhaps the most significant moment in our understanding of what it means for all of us to be awakened. A failure to stay awake is a failure to witness. In our own lives, we might be challenged by Jesus in this moment to stay awake to our own wider world and its suffering. As hard as it can be, we are encouraged to keep educating our own understanding so that we may better be able to come alongside others and know more quickly what might be needed.
While a healthy fast from media is good for the spirit every now and then, avoiding the world or sticking to only one way of hearing information leads to distortion and polarization, even when we ourselves think we are open. ‘Compassion,’ is from ‘compassio,’ ‘to suffer.’ Sometimes, we might have to intentionally ask ourselves to be a witness: to read and immerse ourselves in the issues of human suffering beyond the shock value of the headlines. Taking time, within ourselves, to learn and to pray into these realities can be an expression of discipleship, if undertaken in a conscious, awakened way, rather than an uncontrollable click-response on a sensational headline that we dismiss after a couple of paragraphs because it’s too overwhelming. We can say instead, “today I am going to educate myself about Israel and Palestine, even though it might be really hard, so that I understand much better.” “Today, I am going to try to really understand what is the history behind missing and murdered women in Canada, even though I will be unsettled.” “Today, I am going to try to listen to the voices of climate justice, even though it might upset me.”
Today's music by the Aolians of Oakwood University was spontaneously recorded on the same day as the Parkland shooting in Florida on Valentine's Day/Ash Wednesday, 2018. The choir came together just as they were, from wherever they had been, simply to sing into the pain. Someone happened to record it, so that others could hear them sing their longing for a different world. Instead of shrugging, "another school shooting," they decided to be awake to the moment, and sing into it. This is what being a witness can look like.
The agonized suffering of Jesus in the garden is significant. We can have compassion for Jesus by waking up from our own slumber and joining him in prayer from within our own countries and lives, as we witness to the suffering of the world.
How can you challenge yourself to do this as part of your faith journey?
How can you ask Jesus to help you?
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| Image by Tony Armstrong-Sly |
LC† Awakened by the Spirit is a project of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook, and on Twitter. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help support the ongoing work.
Thank you and peace be with you!