Mark 14:1 - 15:47
In the Garden of Gethsemani, Jesus counseled Peter, James and John to pray & keep watch. This Passion Sunday, if we place ourselves in the scene of the gospel, we can feel that He gives this counsel also to us. For what happened to the three apostles can happen also to us: we may fail to be watchful and fall asleep.
The gospel tells us what happened to Peter, James and John. When Jesus prayed in Gethsemani on the eve of His arrest, the three apostles did not listen to Jesus' counsel to stay awake. Instead, they followed their natural inclination - they slept. Jesus came from where He prayed, and came back to them finding them asleep. This happened three times. The three apostles did not know the importance of vigilance and watchfulness: virtues that can prevent faith in God from faltering. And so, since they were unprepared, when Jesus was arrested, they deserted Him and fled.
Jesus prayed intensely and deeply before entering into His Passion. He asks us to do the same this Holy Week:
Jesus prayed intensely and deeply before entering into His Passion. He asks us to do the same this Holy Week:
to pray,
to remain with Him,
and to keep our souls awake.
Traditional practices of the Lenten discipline are a great help. Ordinary acts of mortification and small sacrifices in the very contexts in which we live and work is what is called of us. We try to be more patient at work, kinder with others at home, or be more respectful to the people we meet on the street. It is not that difficult because Holy Week is just one week. It may be just the spiritual discipline and strength we need to get by for the rest of the year. So, whenever small things don't go right along the way, or something amiss happens, we do not fly off the handle easily and lose our patience.
We need not depend only on our own strengths and intelligence in the practice and discipline of Holy Week. According to the wisdom of the Scriptures and "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas a Kempis, if we trust in ourselves more than we trust God, then when a time of testing comes, we may have not enough reserves of inner strength that only faith in God can give. So we add prayer, vigilance and faith in Jesus. These are what can make us strong - not only for ourselves, but for others too. Like Jesus, we will be "on solid ground", and not "shifting sand". Temptations may come - worries, anxieties, fear, uncertainties - but if we ground ourselves in the love of Jesus, we may overcome all these and continue to do what is good and right. Prayer and watchfulness (awareness) can deepen our faith and anchor us well in every storm of life.
We need not depend only on our own strengths and intelligence in the practice and discipline of Holy Week. According to the wisdom of the Scriptures and "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas a Kempis, if we trust in ourselves more than we trust God, then when a time of testing comes, we may have not enough reserves of inner strength that only faith in God can give. So we add prayer, vigilance and faith in Jesus. These are what can make us strong - not only for ourselves, but for others too. Like Jesus, we will be "on solid ground", and not "shifting sand". Temptations may come - worries, anxieties, fear, uncertainties - but if we ground ourselves in the love of Jesus, we may overcome all these and continue to do what is good and right. Prayer and watchfulness (awareness) can deepen our faith and anchor us well in every storm of life.
