He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him. When he reached the place, he said to them, "Pray that you may not come into the time of trial." Then he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, knelt, and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done." (Luke 22:39-42)

Dear Friends,

Have you wondered, as I have, why our Office Gospel readings for the last week and for the next few days of Advent are from Luke’s description of Jesus’ last week before his crucifixion? I don’t know the “official” reason for this, but it could be to remind us of this last week, to emphasize what Jesus said and did then, so we can prepare for his coming again. However, I suspect that many of you, like me, don’t spend a lot of time thinking about the Second Coming except during Advent. So what else is there to reflect on with these readings?

Today’s Gospel talks about the Mount of Olives and says it was Jesus’ custom to go there. The Mount itself is a mile-long high hill east of the walled city of Jerusalem. In Jesus’ time, pilgrims to Jerusalem without family or friends in the city could camp out on there at night. At other times, Jesus stayed at nearby Bethany with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. But during this visit to Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives was closer and staying outside was more private. It had been a long day and was late at night so staying close and finding privacy for Jesus to pray was important to him.

I’ve been to the traditional place designated as the Mount of Olives three times. While the olive trees there aren’t two thousand years old, the trees look like they could have been there when Jesus was there. Pilgrim groups get reservations to spend time there alone, so it’s calm and peaceful, even with a little traffic noise.

This last pilgrimage we heard a reading from one of the Gospels about Jesus’ visit there and his praying while some disciples tried to stay awake and failed. I can’t say what other pilgrims do there, but I walked around a bit, and found a bench to sit and reflect on the reading, on Jesus’ prayer, and on my own prayers—and contemplated the trees.

Luke says that Jesus tells his disciples to pray that they not come into the time of trial. But they all did—not just dealing with Jesus’ arrest, crucifixion, and death, but also his return and deciding how they were going to live after Him.

We all face our times of trial, too. We need to spend time in darkness to prepare for the life we lead. Some folks are concerned that they shouldn’t pray for themselves, but it’s clear that Jesus did, even as he also said, not my will, but yours be done.

Mother Joanna Sartorius read the verses of an Advent hymn in our clergy meeting this week that addresses this time of darkness and coming light. It’s a hymn I’ve never sung or even heard before, but it reminds us of the need to address both darkness and light in this time of both.

Hymn 69

What is the crying at Jordan?
Who hears, O God, the prophecy?
Dark is the season,
dark our hearts and shut to mystery.

Who then shall stir in this darkness,
Prepare for joy in the winter night?
Mortal in darkness we lie down,
blind hearted seeing no light.

Lord, give us grace to awake us,
to see the branch that begins to bloom;
in great humility is hid all heaven
in a little room.

Now comes the day of salvation,
in joy and terror the Word is born!
God gives himself into our lives;
O let salvation dawn!

Carol Christopher Drake

—Dcn Leah

Dcn Leah Sandwell-Weiss