Episode Transcript
PRAYER OF CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Abba, 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.
Abba, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
Mark 14:32–38 (NIV)
They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”
Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
CONSIDER THIS
We come to the fifth prayer of Jesus, which is the second prayer of the cross. Let's call it the Prayer of Gethsemane.
Gethsemane, as you know, is the place Jesus frequently visited with his disciples as a sanctuary place of prayer. It is located on the Mount of Olives just across the Kidron Valley from the walled city of Jerusalem. It was and is to this day a grove of ancient olive trees. It is often referred to as the Oil Press.
The original fall into temptation and disobedience occurred in a garden. It is no coincidence that Jesus resisted the final temptation and demonstrated the ultimate obedience in yet another garden. It is fitting that the name Gethsemane means "oil press." Jesus faced the unimaginable press of freely submitting to the gravest and most incomprehensible injustice the world has ever witnessed. We see it in the Prayer of Gethsemane.
“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Note the way he begins, "Abba Father." To speak this name is to enter the house of prayer. It is a term of endearment and intimacy. I have four adult children. It delighted my soul that well into their teenage years they would frequently and affectionately call me "DaDa." The final "a" seems to have fallen off now and I'm just "Dad." I get it.
Somewhere along the way, we tend to stop using that kind of language that came naturally and even instinctively to us as young children. Most of us were never taught or discipled to draw on this kind of language and imagery when it came to our relationship with God. This is the essence of the term of endearment, "Abba." Jesus uses it consistently and, because he wants for us to share his relationship with God, we would be well served to use this kind of language too.
Next, he makes the declaration we see on the lips of saints throughout Scripture from Abraham to Jeremiah to Mary:
"everything is possible for you . . ."
It is one thing to claim this as an affirmation of faith, as in, "Nothing is impossible with God." It goes to the next level when we make it a personal declaration to God in prayer: “Everything is possible for you." It is more common to hear people lift up their hopes in their prayers. Jesus begins by lifting up his faith.
Now, watch where he goes next.
"Take this cup from me. . . ."
He lifts up his hope to God. Jesus feels enormous anxiety, isolation, and despair on this night. He knows what has been set in place. He understands his mission. He knows there will be resurrection on the other side of death. But still, he is a human being. He shows us, particularly in the facing of our little crosses, that it is okay to ask for a pass. It's understandable we would want to opt out of suffering even when it is for a greater good. The fact that we would want to escape it makes an ultimate decision to endure it all the more powerful. Beware of the person who wants to suffer. Jesus hopes something can change. He prays his hope.
He starts with faith, shifts to hope, and now you see where this is going.
"Yet not what I will, but what you will."
He prays faith. He prays hope. Now he prays love. Love is a surrender of self-interest in the interest of the other. Love is not resignation to a foregone conclusion. Love means a trusting surrender of one's life to God, over and over and over again. Though trust deepens, it never gets easier, because there always seems to be more at stake to lose.
And let's not miss the renunciation in the prayer. In the Lord's Prayer, we train our hearts to beat to the rhythm of the prayer, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done." Jesus takes it a step further here by renouncing his will.
"Yet not what I will, . . ."
Again, it is one thing to make the claim, "I want to do God's will and not my own will." It is quite another to renounce one's will speaking directly to God in prayer: "Yet not what I will." Note also the difference between this and the tepid prayer of, "If it is your will to (fill in the blank), then please do (fill in the blank)."
This Gethsemane Prayer is a powerful prayer of the cross. It will lead us in the way of Jesus every single time, beginning with faith, moving to hope, and landing on love.
“Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
THE PRAYER FOR PRAYER
Almighty Ascended Lord Jesus Christ, you are high and exalted yet nearer than our breath. Though you are God, you showed us what it looks like to be fully human in the face of unimaginable difficulty. Thank you for your bold faith, your vulnerable hope, and your trusting love. Train my mind and heart in this way of your cross. Praying with you and in your name, Jesus. Amen.
