Post by purr on Apr 21, 2019 7:01:57 GMT
That dreadful Friday Jesus was facing slow, agonizing and shameful execution by Roman crucifixion, befitting the worst of criminals and slaves.
"And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; and saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt."
Here's Jesus the man experiencing the very human dread at the prospect of dying, regardless of his faith, made worse by him facing slow, agonizing and shameful execution by crucifixion, punishment for slaves gone rogue and murderers. In the New Testament scene describing the night to early morning before, Jesus' emotions turn to being "sore amazed" and "very heavy" and finally "exceedingly sorrowful unto death". Please note he repeatedly asked his friends to 'tarry' and keep watch over his spiritual struggle deep inside the garden of Gethsemane. We all know of course these confident, even boastful friends nodded off, were found indeed sound asleep whenever Jesus went back to check. Then falling down, (*almost) all alone, he prayed in anguish if at all possible his heavenly Dad would let him off the hook, allowing him not to go through with such excruciatingly (pun intended) hard passing into the next life. God must have said Go Mission Go or sumtin.
Jesus is now forever engaged in what humans fell short of doing for him that long ago night:
stay here with us... keeping watch as the kindest of friends.
And Jesus went to his slave's death. Atheists may take as a load of crock what came next, Agnostics will rationally question it, Evangelicals accept as God's truth (and I as Mystical Christian am infinitely CURIOUS reading) the story of him somehow surviving. Is he 'alive' because we can still read about him in the Gospels (and choose to believe)? Or did he really REALLY rise from the dead (why not 
)? In my conviction/always fevered imagination Jesus is now forever engaged in what humans fell short of doing for him that long ago night: stay here with us... keeping watch as the kindest of friends.
)? In my conviction/always fevered imagination Jesus is now forever engaged in what humans fell short of doing for him that long ago night: stay here with us... keeping watch as the kindest of friends.A Happy and/or Blessed Easter
to all ye UFO watchers here plus EVERYONE out there!
Not to forget since the gentle miracleworker at the heart of Christianity (and roots of the Europeanized civilization) is remembered as a Rabbi:
Chag Pesach Sameach!
purr
*How did the Gethsemane story come to us (since Jesus' male followers were sleeping as it went down)? I guess the women, like his Mom Mary and special follower Mary Magdalene somehow (perhaps because this is what mothers, wives, sisters do?) did manage to 'stay here' and 'keep watch' over the cherished son and trusted teacher who told them this very night death was coming his way....