Maundy Thursday – Luke 22:39-53
He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. When he reached the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.” Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.” Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength. In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground. When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief, and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial.”
While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him; 48 but Jesus said to him, “Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?” When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?” Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!”
Meditation: Praying with Jesus (Jessica Dowling)
My friends
We are on the eve of Good Friday and Easter Sunday,
where Jesus will suffer, die, and rise in glory.
We will marvel at the incarnate Son of God who could not be held down by death.
But right now, before we turn to Jesus in all his glory,
I want to look at the human Jesus.
It’s the human Jesus that I’m finding more relatable right now.
The human Jesus, the son of a nobody carpenter.
The human Jesus, the one who was scared shitless
by what was about to happen to him.
The one who begged God to take the cup away from him.
The one who was afraid.
Yeah, that’s the Jesus I can get behind.
Just like Jesus, we are afraid.
These are scary times.
We are afraid for ourselves,
for our loved ones,
for the homeless and marginalized,
for those who will lose their jobs,
for those who will lose their lives.
And when we are afraid our body can respond
in a host of unwelcome ways.
We experience muscle tightness, nausea, chest pain,
lack of focus, diarrhea, headaches, menstrual abnormalities.
We may even sweat blood.
Even though Jesus was afraid,
he knew he couldn’t avoid what was coming,
but he did know what he could do with that fear.
He could give it to God in prayer
Which is exactly what we can do
And that doesn’t mean the fear will go away
or we can avoid what is coming.
But if that’s how Jesus dealt with his fear,
then it’s good enough for me.
Jesus was alone when he prayed,
physically distanced from his disciples.
We are often alone now too,
but we can still pray together.
We can pray at the same time each day
with someone online or over the phone.
We can pray in the woods,
on the frontlines, or on zoom.
And Good Friday will still come, and the cup will not pass,
but we will receive new strength to face our fears
and give them to God
because She is more than happy to take them on,
and give us the strength and hope we need
to get us through until Easter. Amen.
Hymn: Stay With Me (Taize)
Stay with me,
remain here with me
Watch and pray
Watch and pray
Prayer
Oh God,
we pray that you would hold us this night.
Even though we feel alone
remind us that our spirit rests in you
We pray for those who are afraid:
the isolated,
the sick,
the helpers,
and for all healthcare workers,
cleaners, cashiers, and all on the frontlines,
for the researchers and the scientists.
We pray for the marginalized,
the homeless,
for those for whom physical distancing
is an impossibility,
for those who must choose between paying rent
and staying healthy.
Help us to give our fear to you in prayer.
For we know you are always with us God,
even when we sweat blood.
Reflection Song: “One More Day, One More Night” (Tom Petty)
One more night, God I’ve had to fight
To keep my line of sight on what’s real
One more day I fear I’ve lost my way
I don’t know how to say what I feel
Someone better hurry I’m all alone
And I keep breaking down
Breaking down, you know
No one ever taught me to be on my own
And I keep breaking down
Breaking down, you know
One more night my eyes reflect the light
In the distance something bright appears
One more day it’s too hard to explain
What goes on in my brain is not clear
Someone better hurry I’m all alone
And I keep breaking down
Breaking down, you know
No one ever taught me to be on my own
Yeah and I keep breaking down
Breaking down, you know
So hold on one more night
Hold out one more day
Hold on one more night
Hold out one more day
There’ll be one more night and things will be made right
Again I’ll hold you tight my dear
One more day and I’ll collect my pay
And soon be far away from here
