Good morning, boker tov (in Hebrew)! This morning we will recount the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. We are almost to the bottom of the Mount of Olives and to the Kidron Valley. We have entered into a beautiful courtyard dotted with old olive trees. This mountain used to be filled with olive groves during the 2nd Temple Period but was nearly cleared of all trees during the Ottoman Turkish Empire. I actually have a picture of the Mount of Olives from the early 20th century where there is hardly an olive tree to be found. But if you take yourself back in time 2000 years, you would be standing in the area where Jesus brought his favorite disciples on the last night of his life to the Mount of Olives. Let’s read the account:
A portrayal of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane (www.lds.org)
“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived. With him was a large crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest him.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. Jesus replied, “Do what you came for, friend.” (Matt 26:36-50 – NIV)
Can you imagine the agony that Jesus must have been experiencing? Knowing he was in his last hours. And that he could not even depend on his disciples to stay awake and keep watch! I’m not sure they really understood the seriousness or the closeness of the events that had been predicted by Jesus. Or maybe they had had too much Passover wine from the feast. You know that even then, it was tradition to drink four full glasses of wine during the Seder meal. I can tell you that every year at Passover, I can’t consume the four full glasses, or I will not be able to stay awake for the entire service myself! But for whatever the reason, Jesus had to go this one alone, in his thoughts, in his prayers, and in his solitude. This is such an agonizing story…which is why the church we are about to enter is known as the Church of Agony.
Church of Agony or Church of All Nations- (flickr.com)
Around the corner from the trees is the church entrance. Antonio Barluzzi designed this building in the 1950’s. Donations from many different countries were received in a collective effort by many Catholic churches and so it is also named the Church of All Nations. If you were to look up at the ceiling, it is decorated with the crests of each of the countries that contributed to its building.
The church is dark, done in black and purples to reflect the emotion of agony. You aren’t supposed to feel good when you go into this church. It depicts a very sorrowful time in the life and heart of Jesus. The window glass is done in alabaster, darkened everywhere except where the light can only come through the white cross-shapes made in the middle of each window. Barluzzi had an incredible gift of being able to build a church that reflects the story it is commemorating. He built this church over the exact footprint of a Byzantine church that was here during the 4th – 6th centuries. It was a huge church. One of many that dotted the hillside of the Mount of Olives in commemoration of the Ascension of Jesus. It was destroyed during the First Arab Invasion in the 6th Century and then rebuilt as a school during the Crusader Period. We can still see some of the ruins from both periods when we enter into the building.
The doors of the building are beautiful in that the design is sculpted in the shape of olive branches reminiscent of the Garden of Gethsemane itself. The floor has original Byzantine mosaics. The architect preserved the originals under glass and then continued the pattern all throughout the building in new material. It is quite spectacular to see. In the center of the front of the church is the original bedrock, symbolizing the place where Jesus prayed his solitary prayer. It is encircled by an iron grill shaped like a crown of thorns, like the one put on his head by the guards.
As we walk out of the church and down the steps to see the façade of the building, it is one of the most beautiful in Israel. There is a mosaic of Jesus in the center, with a halo over his head. To his left are people that look like they are the leaders and scholars of the day, and to his right are the poor, the widows, and the suffering. There is an angel holding the sacred heart of Jesus and there is a triangular halo above Jesus, depicting God the Father. The columns supporting the arches of the façade bear statues of the four gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
This is a place, that no matter what your faith, one can experience the raw emotion that permeates this story. I hope you have an opportunity to come to Israel, walk through the Garden of Gethsemane and experience it for yourselves.
Have a blessed day.
Shalom from Israel
