Come to the garden with me

Every year [on Holy Thursday], my family and I enter [adoration] and pray for a while after the main service has ended. Sitting with Jesus in His agony is a powerful and emotional moment for all of us. However, this year for the first time, I came back at the end to spend time with Jesus before He left the garden. It is a very different moment from the beginning.

At the beginning, Jesus is begging God to take this cup of suffering away. There is fear, sadness, and loss filling the moment. He asks three times, “Please take this cup away from me.” Three times, the answer is “No.”

In the end, Jesus answers, “Thy will be done.” He knows that God’s will is for this sacrifice to be seen through to the very end. It is at this moment that Jesus stands up and leaves the garden in complete control and peace. He could run. He could hide. Instead, Jesus walks to the garden where his arrest is imminent. On the way, he approaches Peter, James, and John, who are sleeping under the tree, and says, “Get up, let us go. Look, my betrayer is at hand.”

Being present at the end of this time of adoration, I could see the strength of Jesus as He leaves the garden. From here on out, He is in complete control. This cup will not pass. He will make sure of it. I fell to my knees in awe.

(Excerpted from Walking Through Holy Week)

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