“Ready, at the Hour of Need”

“Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel sorrow and distress. Then he 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.’ When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep. He said to Peter, ‘So you could not keep watch with me for one hour? Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ Withdrawing a second me, he prayed again, ‘My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!’ Then he returned once more and found them asleep, for they could not keep their eyes open. He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing again. Then he returned to his disciples and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners. Get up, let us go. Look, my betrayer is at hand.’ ”

There are times when it is almost impossible to imagine ourselves in the middle of a Bible story. Walking across the Red Sea on dry ground. Swallowed by a whale. Walking on water. Seeing thousands fed from a single picnic basket. The miraculous can be a little difficult to process at times. That isn’t true of the altogether human failures with which we all identify. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was in anguish. Thankfully, he wasn’t alone. However, we read the story and think, “Well, he might as well have been,” and we readily identify with the apostles’ failure to support him in his need. Oh, that we might be ready, willing, and listening when the Lord calls to us!