A Gift For You

Lenten Devotions for 2005

Jesus in the Garden of
Gethsemane
 Introduction

These forty days each central idea,

of devotion are otherwise known
based on a form as a station, is
known as the accompanied with
“Stations of the a text for
Cross.” In this meditation. The
form of devotion, focus of each
which is at least station is Christ's
1600 years old, Passion for the

universe. Some of the most famous versions of the stations use texts that are not
found in the Bible. This version uses the Gospel accounts of Jesus's walk to the Cross.
Many of the permanent stations of the Cross, which can be found in meditation
gardens or inside naves, have artwork associated with each station. This devotion
follows that tradition by having some form of art for each of the forty days. We pray
that by the power of the Holy Spirit these forty devotions will give you a brief glimpse
into the mysteries of Christ's Passion and Death.
 Ash Wednesday, February 9
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples,
“Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” Matthew 26:36.
We do not normally associate ashes with
a garden since we tend to think of
gardens as a place of life and vitality
and not a place of death and destruction.
Most of us hold the
Victorian model of
gardens in our
minds when we
think of a garden.
We expect that all
hint of death and
decay to be hidden from our view when
we visit a Victorian style garden. We
only want to see the nicely trimmed
trees, the well-mown grass, and the
beautiful flowers. We do not wish to be
reminded of the death that was required
to achieve the garden's looks. In order to
trim the trees, wood was removed. The
grass has not been allowed to grow as it
pleases but instead it has
been cut down. The old
flowers along with the
weeds have been pulled
up and tossed away. In
each of these examples,
some measure of death
has come into the garden
in order to make it pleasant to our
senses.
Today on the start of Lent, we are once
again reminded that we are nothing
more than dust and one day we too will He has learned the Law with His entire
return to dust. being. He has lived the
All through our Law as God intended it by
lives, we have been loving God and others. He
shaped by our has taught those who
encounters with would listen about how
God and the one does God's will. And
world. We are now in His passion, He
just like flowers; prays.
we only live a short time. Even
the trees one day too will die.

In the garden of Gethsemane,

Jesus went to go and pray
about His future. Throughout
His life, we have seen a man
that has a passion for living.

Heavenly Father I need to take time to be still. I pray for the desire
to slow down and spend some time with you. Help me to have a set
time that is just ours, yours and mine together.
 Thursday, February 10
He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and

agitated. Then he said to them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and

stay awake with me.” Matthew 26:37-38.

Jesus has a passion for life. We often “became sad.” Jesus is sad that His life
forget how much He loved to live since we on earth will soon be over. He has told the
only focus on His pain and suffering disciples that He will be betrayed. This
during His trial and death. But the news has made the disciples “sad.” And
narrator tells us once again that Jesus after Jesus told the disciples that they
loves life when the narrator tells us that would all leave Him, Peter speaks up and
He was “grieved and tells
agitated.” Jesus
that he
Today, we really do will not
not talk about being leave
grieved anymore Jesus.
and a better But Jesus
translation for us tells Peter
may be the phrase that Peter
will deny Jesus, not once but three times.
Anyone with any feeling would “become
sad” if their closest friends left them in
difficult times, denied that they knew
Him in front of others, and handed them
over to be put to death by torture.
Another way to say that one is “agitated”
is to say that one is “troubled.” Not only
is Jesus “sad” about what is happening to
Him but also He is also “troubled.”
These unsettling developments in
Christ’s passion have made Jesus “sad.”

The author of Matthew only uses the
Greek word, translated here as “agitated,”
this one time. This single occurrence of
the word should alert us of the word’s
importance. It is essential for us to
notice that Jesus is “agitated” about the
developments in His life. His passion for
us is changing His composure.
In times of stress, we often do not want
to be left alone. We want our near and
dear friends to be with us. All that Jesus
wants us to do in times of trials and
tribulations is stay awake with Him and
to experience His passion for us. He did
not ask any more of the disciples and He
will not ask any more from us either.

Dear Lord I know there are grieving times to come. Help me to be a

comfort to others, as you have been in my distresses.
 Fr i d a y, February 11
And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it

be possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” Matthew

26:39.

We feel that we are in charge of our life center of the universe because this action
and that we can is a sin.
do what we want.
No one can tell We sin because we
us to do have moved ourselves
anything that we in front of God. We
do not want to do this action for
do. We think that many different
we are our own reasons but the most
boss. common reason
seems to be that we
Jesus clearly tells want to hide God
us that we from ourselves. We
cannot place feel that our being
ourselves in the not only overshadows
God but completely obliterates God from
the scene. We hope that if we cannot see
God, then God is not present. And we bet
that if God is not seen, we can get away
with anything.
We also sin when we crowd God out of
our life because when we try to move God,
we also remove those people around us
from our view. When we inflate our egos,
we push others away from us, and we
forget that we are to love them as we love
ourselves. We feel that no one will hold
us accountable for our actions.
Jesus models for us a different action.
Instead of crowding out God, Jesus let
God stay where God should be: in the
center of life. Jesus offers to God an
alternative view but He does not force His
image onto God. Jesus lets God decide
what to do.
What would the world look like if we
followed the lead of the Master?

My Father in heaven. Life has cups of blessings and woes. Help me to

realize that your plans for me are more supreme than I can imagine.
Bless me with the faith to trust and be guided by you.
 Saturday, February 12
Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could
you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and the spirit indeed is willing, but the
flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:40-41.
Jesus asks us just to stay awake and to
focus our vision on Him. Will we be
ready when God calls us?
Jesus warns us that we will never know
when we will run into God because God
is always with us. On Ash Wednesday,
we were invited to work on seeing God
through the practice of: repenting,
fasting, praying, and working for
others. Each of these actions provides us
with new ways to see God.
When we ask God to forgive our sin, we
acknowledge to God that our actions have
not been true to the way that God
envisions the world. We are not only
asking God to cover up our marks on the
world but we are also asking God to give
us another chance to see Him.
When we fast, we are training our bodies
to spend more time with God. Instead of
eating, we take the time to encounter God
through prayer, worship, and service.
In our prayers, we are asking God to
change us into God's image of a human.
One that not only serves God and
neighbor, but also one that walks with
God in the cool of the evening.
In our service for others, we are doing the
will of God. When we give of our time
and talents to our neighbors, we are
seeing God's image in them.
In addition to these Lenten disciplines,
we also meet God in worship. Jesus has
promised to come when we are gathered in
His Name. God has
promised to send the
Holy Spirit to us in the
Sacrament of Baptism.
Jesus is with us when we
celebrate His meal.
The only way that we
will know when we see God is by God’s
Dear God: It is my desire to be ``awake'' to your teachings. My desire
is hindered by my busy life and daily concerns. May the Holy Spirit
cause my desire to become action.
own power. For some of us, it will take
time before we realize that God was with
us. We will be like Jacob and remember
our encounter with God. For others of us,
we will know God immediately. We will
be like Moses at the Burning Bush or
like the psalmist who sees God in the
House of the LORD. And for others of us,
we will not know
that we gave Jesus
food and water,
gave Him clothing,
and visited Him in
prison and in
sickness until we
see Him in Heaven.
 Soli Deo Gloria
Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above

earth and heaven. Psalms 148:13.

 Ann Wofford -- Prayers

Elaine Lenz -- Crosses

Jody Winston -- Writing and Photos

Prayers
Prayers