“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.”
Luke 22:42
This Gospel reading from Luke, which takes place as Jesus is about to be arrested, seems an odd choice for Advent.
Yet that is the way the daily lectionary falls.
But the point here is that in this moment of agony for Jesus we find him in prayer.
It is not an unusual occurrence in the gospels to find Jesus praying.
On several occasions all the gospel writers tell us of Jesus going off early in the morning, while it was still dark, to some quiet, isolated place, to pray.
Before beginning his day, before every major decision, such as before he selected his disciples, Jesus prayed.
And what this particular reading tells us is that even in times of great anguish, Jesus never lost trust in his heavenly Father.
Jesus knew that it was his last day. He knew that his hour had come to leave this world and go to the Father. He knew Judas was about to betray him. He knew that he would be arrested, tried, and condemned to die.
Jesus knew that he had come from God and was going to God. He knew!
Prayer is central to our lives, both individually and as a community of faith.
But the world does not encourage us to tend to our inner spiritual life, in fact, it does everything it can to distract us from such efforts.
One of my favorites quotes is from the famed Swiss theologian, Karl Barth, who grounded his theology in the practice of prayer.
He is quoted as saying: “To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.”
When we ask God in prayer to show us the paths, the ways, the truth of God; we must be reminded that those ways are not easy, even for modern, apparently comfortable Christians.
The work of God does not begin in us, but in God.
God is the one who must provide all that is needed.
God is the one whose power we seek and find when we pray.
God is the one whose power motivates and strengthens us.
From the church perspective, the blessed Martin Luther said: Prayer is the breath of the church. It keeps us alive and moving, and without it we quickly choke and die and all our good intentions die with us.
So, this Advent is a good time to begin or rekindle the practice of prayer.
And as we learn to trust God, may we begin to see things from God’s perspective.
Let us pray.
O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer, p. 832)
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Artwork: Jesus Christ prays to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane in the evening oil painting. By Vladyslav Tykhonov
