Up on a mountain our Lord is alone,
Without a family, friends or a home.
He cries, "Oo, oo, oo, will you stay with me?
Oh, Oh, Oh will you wait with me?"
Up on a mountain our Lord is afraid,
Carrying all the mistakes we have made.
And he knew, oo, oo, it's a long way down.
Do you know, oh, oh, it's a long way down?
-Welcome Wagon
Between the celebration and last meal Jesus had with his friends, and his pain and suffering of the cross, was the Garden.
On his last free night, Jesus went for a stroll with his closest friends. After preaching along the way, they arrived at a favorite spot of his, the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus knew that time was running out and getting short, and he knew what was ahead of him.
I can't fathom how he felt. I know what it's like to know God is good, is sending me on a certain path, and that he will take care of me. The whole time I don't always feel the same way. I am pretty sure that God is going to bring me through, but I never know for certain. I wonder if there was a hint of the same with Jesus. How certain was he? There must have been, at least in his mind, a chance of things not going the way he thought they would.
Now I've never had to face anything like Jesus did that night. I don't think anyone can say for certain how much Jesus knew, but he knew his scriptures and all of the prophecies about the Messiah. He knew he was going to die, and it wasn't going to be pretty. And I'm sure he knew God was going to turn his face away, and for the first time ever, the Trinity would not be in full communion. That's some pretty big stuff. And somewhere deep in his heart, something inside him was telling him to get the heck out!
He was so troubled, conflicted and afraid that his body started pouring blood. He was so utterly stressed out that normal sweating didn't cover it.
But what strikes me the most was that the Son of God needed his friends. He brought them with him, and he asked them to pray and stay watch with him. He craved their support. Of course, they did a pretty crappy job of it, like any of us would. But the fact that he relied on them speaks much to me. If Jesus needed friends and prayer from these friends, how much more do I need it?
I will never go through anything as horific as he did. Even if I suffer the same death, I know that in the least, I will not feel the wrath of God and he will not turn his face away from me. So whatever I suffer pales in comparision. Yet I need support. I need people to pray and keep watch with me.
This is not easy for me. I tend to be reclusive and solo. I like to do things on my own, figure them out myself. But if Jesus needs folks, then I need to let my guard down and need folks too.
So, friends, will you pray for me?
And how can I pray for you?
[Check out the Welcome Wagon's song that I stole those lyrics from: "Up on a Mountain"]
