Pat Gohn
Editor, Living Faith
Then [Jesus] said to them,
"My soul is sorrowful even to death.
Remain here and keep watch with me."
He advanced a little and fell prostrate
in prayer, saying,
"My Father, if it is possible,
let this cup pass from me;
yet, not as I will, but as you will."
Matthew 26:38-39
The scene above on the Mount of Olives shows Jesus praying to his Father in the moments ahead of the betrayal that he knows is coming. This is the beginning of his Passion—the mental and physical stressors in his human flesh are on full display. Jesus falls prostrate as he offers an agonizing prayer here, struggling in his humanity with accepting the Father’s will. The reason Jesus came to earth was for the salvation of sinners... and he will soon shed his blood for those sins, but it starts with this first night of anguished suffering.
Scholars say that Matthew offers this account so that Christians one day would be encouraged. For there are many moments when a disciple may struggle to accept the will of God, especially if it is yoked to personal suffering.
Let us recall that first Jesus taught the disciples to pray the Our Father, including that important line: Thy will be done. And on this night in the Garden, Jesus prays it, and shows us how necessary the fight against temptations to flee God’s will really are. We are to follow in Jesus’ footsteps even when suffering will be a factor in our lives. But we are to pray and be in union with him and the Father, so we are not alone in it.
If you are trying to discern the will of God in your life, I recommend praying some more with this Gospel text, and also praying the Rosary, especially this mystery of Jesus’ agony in the Garden.
Dear Jesus, may our lives be lived in accordance with your holy will.
