*Photo courtesy of Pixabay.
From Matthew 26:36-37, ESV: “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.’ 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. ”
In the Christian faith, we are nearing the end of Lent, which means the story of Gethsemane is near, a telling of the hours leading up to Jesus death as he prayed and prepared himself. It is a dark, somber story, which tells of: the evil that men do, the weakness of someone who is supposed to be a friend, violence, betrayal, suffering, death, all of which happened to Jesus. Sadly, all of these stem from the human condition.
Yet, something else is at the heart of the human condition and this story of Jesus and Gethsemane: the desire of mankind to strive towards spiritual nurturing and enlightenment, to find our way to the light. To believe, when times are darkest, that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, a benevolent power that will calm us and give us what we need to sustain such dark and painful times.
Jesus’ disciples were hitting rock bottom. Betraying their Lord and leader is certainly at rock bottom, and I just imagine how that felt when he actually died. But the whole Easter story does carry a light of hope, a promise of spiritual gifts, forgiveness, and resurrection. I used to want to avoid the story of Lent. I studied it in depth throughout my whole childhood in Sunday school and parochial school. But the truth is, you have to go through Lent before you get to the joy of Easter. Otherwise, you really don’t know just what it’s all about. It’s sort of like childbirth. The pain is 100% worth it.
We are bottom feeder humans. Many of us would deny our Lord or our faith when it is more convenient. But even we can ask and hope for forgiveness. This is the story of the contrast of dark and light and of rebirth. Many might say it simply represents Spring. But it is the epitome of faith, belief in things not seen, and things that we once believed impossible.
**The AtoZ Challenge theme for my blog is “Who I am.” Yes, it’s wide open. In April, I will blog from A to Z to include little tidbits about me, poems I’ll share, and stories. Each day I will write something based on the next letter in the alphabet. It’s been fun so far, yet it has really given me a chance to pause for reflection as well.
Want to know more about the A-Z blog challenge? Visit http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/
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