The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States Grow Pray Study Guide for Wednesday, 28 March 2018 “The time has come” - Mark 14:27-42
Daily Scripture
Mark 14:27 Yeshua said to them, “You will all lose faith in me, for theTanakh says,
‘I will strike the shepherd dead,
and the sheep will be scattered.’[Mark 14:27 Zechariah 13:7]
28 But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you into the Galil.” 29 Kefa said to him, “Even if everyone else loses faith in you, I won’t.” 30 Yeshua replied, “Yes! I tell you that this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will disown me three times!” 31 But Kefa kept insisting, “Even if I must die with you, I will never disown you!” And they all said the same thing.
32 They went to a place called Gat Sh’manim; and Yeshua said to his talmidim, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took with him Kefa, Ya‘akov and Yochanan. Great distress and anguish came over him; 34 and he said to them, “My heart is so filled with sadness that I could die! Remain here and stay awake.” 35 Going on a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that if possible, the hour might pass from him: 36 “Abba!” (that is, “Dear Father!”) “All things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me! Still, not what I want, but what you want.” 37 He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Kefa, “Shim‘on, are you asleep? Couldn’t you stay awake one hour? 38 Stay awake, and pray that you will not be put to the test — the spirit indeed is eager, but human nature is weak.”
39 Again he went away and prayed, saying the same words; 40 and again he came and found them sleeping, their eyes were so very heavy; and they didn’t know what to answer him.
41 The third time, he came and said to them, “For now, go on sleeping, take your rest. . . .There, that’s enough! The time has come! Look! The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners! 42 Get up! Let’s go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Mark 14:27 Yeshua said to them, “You will all lose faith in me, for theTanakh says,
‘I will strike the shepherd dead,
and the sheep will be scattered.’[Mark 14:27 Zechariah 13:7]
28 But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you into the Galil.” 29 Kefa said to him, “Even if everyone else loses faith in you, I won’t.” 30 Yeshua replied, “Yes! I tell you that this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will disown me three times!” 31 But Kefa kept insisting, “Even if I must die with you, I will never disown you!” And they all said the same thing.
32 They went to a place called Gat Sh’manim; and Yeshua said to his talmidim, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took with him Kefa, Ya‘akov and Yochanan. Great distress and anguish came over him; 34 and he said to them, “My heart is so filled with sadness that I could die! Remain here and stay awake.” 35 Going on a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that if possible, the hour might pass from him: 36 “Abba!” (that is, “Dear Father!”) “All things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me! Still, not what I want, but what you want.” 37 He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Kefa, “Shim‘on, are you asleep? Couldn’t you stay awake one hour? 38 Stay awake, and pray that you will not be put to the test — the spirit indeed is eager, but human nature is weak.”
39 Again he went away and prayed, saying the same words; 40 and again he came and found them sleeping, their eyes were so very heavy; and they didn’t know what to answer him.
41 The third time, he came and said to them, “For now, go on sleeping, take your rest. . . .There, that’s enough! The time has come! Look! The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners! 42 Get up! Let’s go! Here comes my betrayer!”
(Complete Jewish Bible)
Reflection QuestionsThere are very old olive trees today in Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed (click herefor a photo of some of them; click here to read a 2012 news story about the trees’ antiquity). Despite Jesus' recent urging of the importance of alertness (cf. Mark 13:33-37), his disciples couldn’t manage it for even one night as he prayed. One aspect of historic Christian belief about Jesus is that he was fully human and fully divine. His anguish and pleading with God gave one glimpse of what “fully human” meant.
- “Not what I want but what you want” are among the best known of all Jesus' words. We often quote them about situations like the death of a loved one, in which we had no choice. But Jesus wasn’t dealing with an untreatable illness. His words of submission reflected his active choice to stay the course that led to the cross. In what ways do you have to choose, intentionally, to do God’s will rather than your own?
- When was the last time you were “deeply distressed and troubled”? Did others say (or did you tell yourself) that you should be stronger, and shouldn’t feel what you felt? Hebrews 4:15 said Jesus is not “a high priest who can’t sympathize with our weaknesses.” Can Jesus’ prayers before his crucifixion help you understand that grief and fear are not shameful? Do they help you to realize that at those times Jesus understands, weeps and walks through the feelings with you?
Lord Jesus, how I want to say, “I’d have stayed awake praying with you.” Honestly, I don’t know that. But I thank you for the confidence I can have that when I’m hurting, you stay with me always. Amen.
Wendy Connelly is wife to Mark, mom to two kids and a seminary student at Saint Paul School of Theology. She will be leading the "Christianity and World Religions Immersion" this month for Resurrection Downtown.
Last year, on Maundy Thursday evening, I received a terrible long-distance phone call. My dad’s best friend, Tom, the one who had been like a second father to me after my dad’s death, was now on his deathbed. His wife sounded frantic, and I wanted so much to comfort them, to sit by their side in the hospital during these agonizing final hours, but I was a state away. I decided that if I couldn’t be by Tom’s side with family, I needed to keep vigil, and to pray.
I remembered that my friends, hitch-hiking monks in Kansas City, Kansas, called “The Little Brothers of the Lamb,” spent all of Holy Week re-enacting the events of Jesus’ last days. And so, I drove out to the little monastery Lumen Christi in a helpless frenzy of tears, and took a pew as the brothers and sisters lovingly adorned their little chapel and its sacred icons with red and white roses, candles and the smell of incense, preparing to remember the events of Jesus’ arrest that night. Their devotion in solidarity comforted me. What better way to keep vigil with my friends amidst the agony of death than in poignantly remembering Jesus’ last hours, his agony in the garden?
The service—sung in haunting harmonies, with kneelers and gestures, bells and smells, and all the beauty one could muster in a liturgy—began at 10pm. We processed outside with candles, then back inside again—murmuring, chanting, standing, kneeling. I counted down the solemn hours, praying for Tom and his family, all the while remembering our Lord. It was difficult, staying awake. I understood how Jesus’ disciples so easily failed him in his moment of blood-stained sweat and deepest sorrow, as I caught myself nodding off, jerking rudely awake.
The spirit is eager, but the flesh is weak.
That night, though, the spirit won out. The gesture of staying awake—it restored my weary soul, and united me to my dying friend and our suffering God. By 2:30am, the monastery emptied into the courtyard with torches around a blazing fire, the stars twinkling above us through plumes of smoke. Jesus was arrested, betrayed with a kiss. And for this one night, among veiled heads and faces illumined in the darkness, I bore witness.
This Holy Week, what gesture might you make, what sacrifice of the flesh, to honor Jesus?
As for me, I’ll be at the little monastery, keeping vigil in the courtyard.
Like this post? Share it!
You might also like
- A transformed Passover with a cross ahead
- “Stay alert!”
- Prayer Tip: 24 Hours
- A shocking glimpse of what fighting Rome would bring
- Praising a poor widow, not greedy legal experts
- Or download this week's printable GPS.
©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
***
No comments:
Post a Comment