First Station: Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

Then Jesus came with them into a country place which is called Gethsemani; and he said to his disciples: Sit you here, till I go yonder and pray. And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to grow sorrowful and to be sad. Then he saith to them: My soul is sorrowful even unto death: stay you here, and watch with me. And going a little further, he fell upon his face, praying, and saying: My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
(Mt 26:36-39, Douay-Rheims Version)

I have often meditated on what was in the mind of Jesus when he was in the Garden of Gethesmane. After all, it is the First Sorrowful Mystery in the rosary prayer. Although it is in my mind when during the rosary prayer, I must confess that I rarely go beyond the time needed to recite the 10 Hail Marys for the decade. I had a good opportunity to go beyond that time when I sat down the other day to think about what to write to formulate the content for this First Scriptural Station of the Cross.
Foremost in our minds these days are the difficulty we have in understanding the decision made by the Church authorities for not having public masses. I have heard all the arguments on both sides and I also understand the frustrations felt by both sides because of the decision that was made. Please do not think that the Pope and bishops made this decision frivolously. I am sure they prayed over and over on what had to be done.

When I place myself in the shoes of Jesus that night in the Garden, I also sense frustration. It was a frustration that emerged for the necessity for Jesus to allow himself to be handed over to the Jewish authorities. The four gospels reveal to us the fact that Jesus was aware that His teaching was causing the Jewish authorities to reject him. We can see that in the predictions He made regarding His passion and death. Yet, can we not see how human it is to consider alternatives and other possibilities when confronted with a possibility that would cause great hurt and harm? What went through Jesus’ mind as he prayed in the garden? The Synoptic Gospels relate how Jesus struggled in his prayer (see Mt 26:39,42; Mk 14:36; Lk 22:42). He wanted to do His Father’s will although He did not like what was going to happen to Him. Like us, he was probably thinking whether there was an alternative way: Was there another way to fulfil the Father’s will? Surely the Father did not want His Son to suffer, did He? I think it would be too simplistic to say that God wanted His Son to be tortured and crucified. God loves His Son. He definitely would not want evil for His Son. God’s will was that Jesus stick to the mission. Jesus was sent to bring the Good News that God was Father. To run away from the cross would invalidate that message. Jesus endured His Passion to tell us that this Good News is worth losing His life for. To show that He had the power of God by breaking free miraculously would also be unhelpful. God loves us and would like us to freely respond in love. To be awed by spectacle, might and power, would not have helped the recipients of His message to respond in freedom. Rather, it would have caused fear; the kind of fear that deprives people of freedom.

I have heard how some have responded to the cessation of public Masses. How could God who gave us the Eucharist agree to deny us the Eucharist? Are we not thinking like Jesus in the garden? Are we not thinking of alternatives? Unlike Jesus, we get worked up and upset. Perhaps, what gets us upset is that we realise that the decision made was made maliciously. We struggle to understand how the decision could be a right one. There are some of us would go so far as to say that the ecclesiastical authorities had given in to something diabolical.

Meditating during this station, I started thinking about Jesus own response to the frustration he felt as he prayed. He did not give in to His human frustration. Instead he took solace in His Father. He decided to trust the Father. Things did not make sense but He decided to do what the Father willed. His love for His Father led him to obey His Father.

The Eucharist is the Blessed Sacrament. We Catholics believe that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist. We want our sustenance. We want our Lord. We want to go to Mass to receive the greatest gift God has given us: His Son in the Blessed Eucharist. Yet, have we asked if that was what God wants at this moment in time? Perhaps the ecclesiastical authorities are as wrong as the Jewish authorities were. Yet, it was to obey His Father’s will that Jesus kept silent as He was led to His death. It was to obey His Father’s will that Jesus allowed himself to suffer the torments that we would come to call His Passion.

Being deprived of the Eucharist is not a good thing. Neither is being deprived of life. If Jesus could trust in the Father and allow His Father to lead him towards that which was not a good thing, could we not also allow the Father to lead us in the midst of this difficult situation? Could we not make the words of Jesus ours as well? My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Mt 26:39 Revised Standard Version)