(image: geralt, Pixabay)
In just a short time it will be Good Friday when we will be remembering, once again, the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus made for us. And one of the most moving parts of the Good Friday story for me is that of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, just before he is arrested. Luke records it in his Gospel like this:
Luke 22:39-44 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Now I don’t want to appear critical of Luke, but I’ve always felt that this brief description doesn’t really convey the absolute agony of what Jesus must’ve been going through. For me (and even though they are not writing from a faith perspective), Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice get much closer to what it must’ve been like for Jesus in their musical portrayal of this event in Jesus Christ Superstar.
And I also reckon, although I’ve got no proof, that there’s some dialogue missing from Luke’s account. I wonder if the incident actually went something like this:
Jesus to his Father: Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me.
Father to Jesus: It’s not up to me. You can put the cup down at any time.
Jesus: But can’t you just take it away from me?
Father: I could, but this is a choice that you are going to have to make alone.
Jesus: OK then Father, not my will, but yours be done.
So how did Jesus do it? How did he so willingly carry the cross for us? I want to suggest that it was because he was clear about his priorities. We see clues to this all the way through the Gospel accounts. Right at the beginning of Luke, when Jesus is a young boy and his parents have lost him in the temple, Jesus says:
Luke 2:49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”
It’s clear that even as a teenager, Jesus had a sense that his life had a clear purpose. A bit later, when Peter has a revelation of who Jesus is, and calls him Messiah, we read:
Mat 16:21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Jesus knew right from the start that Jerusalem was his final destiny. And then in Luke ch. 9, we reach this significant pivot point in the whole Gospel story:
Luke 9:51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
And then, a bit later in Luke ch. 13, Jesus says…
Luke 13:33 In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
Jesus was clear about his priorities, and he never deviated from them. There was no delay, no procrastination, no time wasting … he simply set his face resolutely towards achieving them. So much so, that when he was tempted by the devil during those 40 days in the wilderness to shortcut the process, he knew he had to resist and was able to do so resolutely.
And key to knowing what he was supposed to do was being clear about who he was. This takes us back to his Baptism in Luke ch. 3:
Luke 3:21-22 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
Jesus was clear about his priorities because he was clear about his identity. As a beloved Son, secure in his Father’s love, he was able to state simply “not my will, but yours be done”.
Our recent UCAN+ Virtual Round Table focused on The Art and Science of Objective Setting. But with no disrespect to Jules who led that session so brilliantly, I’d like to suggest that there’s a bit missing from the title that Jules gave to that session!
It’s not just Art and Science. If we are to follow Jesus’ example, being clear on our priorities is also a Spiritual Discipline, and it’s one that’s rooted in the secure knowledge that our Heavenly Father loves us and has called us to serve him. Paul, writing to the church in Ephesus, puts it like this:
Eph 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
So, as you think about your priorities, your goals, objectives, targets or whatever you call them, let’s remember that these are not just abstract concepts, but works which our Heavenly Father has prepared for us, works that only we can do, and he does so because he loves us.
May God bless you this Easter time.
Mark
UCAN Director
(Reflection from our recent UCAN+ Virtual Roundtable on 13th March 2024. Catch up on this and previous Roundtables via www.churchadministrators.net/roundtables)