OUR SUFFERING SAVIOR

As we near the end of the Gospel stories, it can be painful to watch Jesus’ sufferings. The One who healed the sick, calmed the storms, fed the crowds, and taught so wonderfully seems suddenly reduced to a human being, peculiarly vulnerable and painfully aware of His burdens of sorrow, anxiety, and fear. And His ordeal seems all the more intense for His understanding of what He was about to endure, that it would ultimately destroy Him, and that He seemed so alone as it loomed over Him. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus had two requests. The first was that His select group of disciples would “keep watch” with Him, adding their presence and their prayers to His. But they fell asleep and left Him alone with His earnest and urgent prayers. The second was that somehow God would find for Him a way out of His predicament, a way other than the suffering before Him. “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me” (Matthew 26:39). He paused, hoping for a response from the heavens and perhaps some support from His disciples, but He heard only silence, perhaps punctuated by snoring, before He continued His prayer. “If it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done” (Matthew 26:42). Jesus knew what it was to suffer, to be overwhelmed by fear and dread, but He also knew what it was to be let down by His friends and to feel like He was receiving no answer from God despite His most desperate prayers. Even in our most frantic and distressed experiences, we are assured in this account that Jesus has been there with us, and somehow, we are less alone.