The Garden of Gethsemane

After the last supper, Jesus went to Mount Olives to pray. He brought his disciples with him. In John's account, they passed through Kidron Valley before reaching the olive groves (John 18: 1). 

Online sources cited that Kidron valley lay beside the temple of Jerusalem. The valley is lower from where the temple stands. A brook known as Kidron brook meanders through the valley. Jesus and his disciples needed to cross that  brook to reach the olive groves at Mount Olives.

Because of the terrain, the brook served as drainage for the blood of sacrificed animals, mostly sheep, from the Temple. During the Passover celebration held yearly, temple priests sacrificed huge number of animals for the purification ritual. Jews everywhere, even from afar, brought around 250,000 animals to be slaughtered for the ritual.

Jesus knew that animals were killed at the temple for the purification ritual. As a devout Jew, he surely went to Jerusalem yearly to practice that ritual during his lifetime.

We could only imagine what went on inside Jesus' mind as he walked through Kidron valley, crossed that small brook, and arrived at the Garden of Gethsemane. A stench of blood probaly wafted in the air. Animal blood had turned the brook waters red. 

Some pieces of flesh or entrails from sacrificed animals perhaps floated on that brook as they crossed it. They are like the images and stench in abbatoirs. Also, Jesus knew he would suffer the same fate as those animals sacrificed in the temple.

Perhaps, that triggered Jesus' anxiety when he reached the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed facing down. It made his impending suffering and death sad and scary as it gets nearer. In Matthew 26:38, Jesus said, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death."

At the garden, Jesus endured mental suffering alone. He had asked Peter, James and John to accompany him to the spot where he would pray. After each prayer, Jesus checked on the three and saw them sleeping. The food and wine at the last supper probably made them sleepy.

While Jesus prayed, he checked on them twice. Perhaps, he was trying to get some support from his disciples. Unfortunately, they were clueless as to what would happen to him. On the third time when Jesus checked the three disciples, Judas arrived with the temple guards and Roman soldiers to arrest him.

At the garden, Jesus showed his human side as he faced his anxiety. He had asked God if he could spare him from his impending suffering. He was fearful of his fate yet he bravely faced it. We can ask for Jesus' to relieve our anxieties because he can relate to it. Remember, he experienced an anxiety attack when they reached the garden but he surely overcame it.

Jesus showed us the value of prayer. He drew strength and courage praying to God even when he could not get any emotional support from his friends. He did not ran from his fate. He also reminded the disciples to pray so that they won't fall to temptation.

Jesus protected his disciples. He told the group who arrested him to spare them. He managed to pacify the arresting party even when Peter drew his sword looking for a fight. None of the disciples were arrested that night.

The Covid-19 pandemic has triggered anxieties about ourselves, families, friends, work, economy and the future. We can ask Jesus to help us face our pandemic-driven anxieties. We can also ask him to spare us from the tragedy that awaits being infected by the virus.

Though it was difficult for him, Jesus submitted to the will of God as he prayed in the garden. Humans find it hard to submit to God's will. We prefer self-determination. In the face of tragedy, we also find it hard to fathom God's will.

Jesus once said that the way to the Father is through him. The way through him is to accept his offer of salvation. To move forward with his help and live a blameless life free from our sins and idols. We open up to God's will when we take up Jesus' offer of salvation.