The Beloved Son of God has returned to the Garden of Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives. I want to focus on this part of the Gospel for this Sunday because it is important.
The disciples have been at prayer with Jesus and have seen Him at prayer many times. Remember the visit to Mount Tabor where The Father reveals by illumination and by declaration who Jesus is. This was a stop-over on the deadly journey to Jerusalem, and although the disciples continued to follow Him, they were still holding back. They couldn’t understand why Jesus walked headlong into fierce opposition. Their lack of understanding needed to be corrected and they could only do this by following the command to ‘Listen to Him.’ If they can remember the radiance when the darkness comes, they might find the strength to be faithful.
Another time in Luke 11, the disciples ask Jesus for a teaching about what it means to be a prayerful person. He calls them to seek, to ask and to knock on the door of God’s heart, not because God needs persuading but because they do! Disciples have to do the groundwork in their contemplative hearts if they are going to receive the fullness of the gift of the Holy Spirit. And here, in the Garden of Olives, the Beloved Son of God teaches them, ‘Pray, lest you enter into temptation.’ Something is about to happen, and, if they do not pray themselves into these events they will be overwhelmed and captured by them. The strength to say no when a no is needed, and the strength to say yes when a yes is needed will only arise from praying and listening hearts. Tragically it is a lesson that will be learned in the very moment they fail to live it.
As Jesus kneels and touches the earth, He sees the conflict that will erupt from the religious and political powers. He does not want to suffer and He does not seek it. But as He kneels and touches the earth, He finds that He loves something more than His fear of suffering – His commitment to his Fathers will.
Now let’s be absolutely clear here. It is not God’s will that Jesus suffers and dies. Much more, it is God’s will that the power of forgiveness and reconciliation be continued in all circumstances. This is what the Beloved Son has pledged to do. In the events that will unfold, Jesus will not be drawn into violence. He will forgive those who persecute Him and offer the Kingdom to the repentant thief. He can only do this because His centre is centred on God. It is from here that His actions flow. He is about to enter a contest where the strength and steady flow of love will be all that is needed. But His disciples have not stayed awake and He finds no strength in them. For St Luke, this means they have abandoned their contemplative hearts. For them, the situation that is coming is beyond their resources. They are overwhelmed and overcome. The world, and its violence is too much for them. When Jesus asks them, ‘Why do you sleep?’ it is a prophetic question that disturbs the sorrowful slumber of the disciples. No answer comes because there is no answer. He can only repeat, ‘Rise, pray lest you enter into temptation’. But they cannot do it and everything begins to unravel in their hearts.
Suddenly, the violent are upon them. A mindless crowd, led by Judas (one of the Twelve) do not believe in Jesus’ way of seeing and acting. But Jesus is awake. He is integrated. He holds as one and will not let go of His love for His Father and for His people, the power of forgiveness and reconciliation. The Way of the Son of Man, this expression of human potential, is present in Jesus and possible for others. And it is this potential which Judas, even though he walked with Jesus, contradicts. On the outside, he offers Jesus the kiss of loyalty, but on the inside his heart is full of betrayal. If you like, Judas is the perfect example of the very split which the Son of Man has come to heal.
The other disciples, sensing the violence which is to come, act to stop it. They ask Jesus if they should strike with the sword. The sustaining momentum of prayer is not available to them because they have not listened. An ear falls to the ground. As far as they are concerned the dialogue is over. But the One who has spent his life-giving people ears to hear says, “No more of this,’ and follows these words by restoring the ear to its rightful place. As Jesus prayed and stayed awake, He teaches powerfully that loves dialogue is never over. The power of forgiveness and reconciliation continue to flow through Him even when it is halted by His disciples.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is treated like a terrorist. He allows the burden of the sins of the violent to fall across Himself. Perhaps this is what the Gospel writers mean when they call it, ‘His Hour’. It is His because He reveals the Fathers persistent and non-violent love even for those who harm the Beloved Son. It is this ‘Hour’ of eternal time which moves forward to meet the darkness and the hatred and the futile attempt to kill Him. And His Cross, is the eternal declaration that in the contest between Divine Love and Human Sin, there will only ever be one winner.
