How Far Can You Throw a Rock?

CONSECRATE Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.  Jesus, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you. I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Jesus, we belong to you.  Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.  HEAR Luke 22:39–46 ESV And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” CONSIDER Here we are given a bird's-eye view of the Son of God facing the very highest level of anxiety and stress it is possible for a human being to bear. He is literally carrying the weight of the world and all its sin, death, and diabolical brokenness. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and it has come to the very last night. It is impossible to state, much less to grasp, the level of duress Jesus experienced on this occasion—complete with angelic intervention and blood sweating through his skin. Here's what I want us to notice: And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed Let's make our Gospelling granular at this point: And he withdrew . . .  This is not new. It was Jesus's decided pattern of life. Let's review Luke's log: At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. (4:42a) But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (5:16) One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. (6:12) I find my own pattern is more akin to escaping than withdrawing. I tend to escape through some form of distraction or dissociation by some acceptable mode of anesthetic numbing. It is running away from problems. Jesus didn't run away from pain. He ran into peace. In the face of an untenable pace, he pressed pause and got in step with the Spirit who is ever crying out, "Abba Father."  And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw . . .  The next time you are in the presence of a rock—and there is nothing breakable nearby—I want you to pick up that rock and throw it. Then I want you to step off the distance to where it lands, counting each step. Write down that number. That is the distance from your problem and pain to the presence of God. Remember that number.  And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down . . .  Focus in until you can see Jesus moving from standing and walking to kneeling; his knees actually touching the ground. Now, as an act of practice, mirror his movement. He wants to give us the muscle memory of this movement. It is the most important movement in life—from standing and walking to stopping and kneeling—especially in distress.  And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed . . .  And the prayer says it all.  “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” So how far can you throw a rock?  PRAY Lord Jesus, thank you for bringing us into the garden of Gethsemane. And thank you for bringing us that stone's throw further into the courts of heaven. Thank you for kneeling on the ground and for speaking the words we would have never found, and all of this in the most distressing moment of a human being's life in the history of the world. Thank you for being there for us, and now with us—for your glory, for others' gain, and for our good. In your name, Jesus, amen.