— Midweek Meditations:
thoughts, inspiration and encouragement
from ACF community members —
The shadow of the cross was looming large upon Jesus. He had already spoken to his disciples about the impending suffering, rejection, dying and the rising again. And as the hour was approaching Jesus went with his disciples to Gethsemane. He told them to watch and pray. He took Peter, James and John and went a little further. Spoke to them about the turbulence of the soul and told them “Keep watch with me”.
The Gethsemane event is recorded in all four gospels (Matthew 26:36-46, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:39-46, and John 17, 18:1) pointing at its significance in the narrative.
Jesus pleads with his father” If it is possible, please take this cup of suffering away from me. But let your will be done not mine”. As Jesus returned to where his disciples were, he found them sleeping. Could you not keep watch for an hour he asked. “Watch and pray, then you won’t fall into temptation, the spirit is willing, the body is weak, he continued”. Jesus goes back to pray and intercedes about the cup of suffering again. He returned to his disciples with the agony of the soul. But he found them sleeping again. This time Jesus left them as they were and returned to praying. On coming back, he tells them” Are you still sleeping? The hour has come, the son of man is about to be handed over, get up, let us go”.
As we continue to meditate on the journey to the cross the agonising moments in Jesus’ life submitting to the will of God is significant. The only expectation from his disciples was that they watch and pray. It is worth noting here that each time Jesus came back looking for them they were sleeping.
One significant question that lent raises before us is are we also sleeping when Jesus calls us to watch and pray. Despite the constant awakening, do we somehow go back to sleeping? We must heed the clarion call of Lent. Arise, let us go, the hour has come.
The call to prayer is still as relevant. He is still asking us the same: to pray for
- God’s guidance in our life
- Our universe
- Our community of grace- the church
- Our families
- Our children
- Specially the victims of war and violence and those living in the shadow of the cross today
Let us take this as a challenge in this lent season- Jesus is still asking us, his disciples, to stay awake and pray.
The ACF Midweek Meditations
are written by a diverse group of our church members with the intention to seek God’s fingerprints in our lives. They range from somber to humorous and are inspired by all facets of live and faith. Written by ordinary people from all walks of life, they reflect a wide range of Christian backgrounds and spiritualities.
Each week’s text portrays the individual viewpoint of its author. They might not always resonate with everyone, and are not meant to be understood as representing the Anglican Church Freiburg as a whole. Yet, as a church that is aiming to ‘Build a Community of Grace’ we seek to practice learning from and listening to one another.
We pray that these humble ponderings add a small spark of blessing to your week.
Freiburg Anglican Church 