The Lord GOD has given me
a well-trained tongue,
that I might know how to speak to the weary
a word that will rouse them.
Jesus was the one with a well-trained tongue who could give strength to the weary, the one prophesied by Isaiah. But who are the weary if not ourselves? Aren't we the ones who know the magnitude of the events ahead but yet cannot keep watch with Jesus for one hour? Let us hear him rouse us, leading us on the path of discipleship:
Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Like Peter, James, and John we have the Spirit drawing us onward after Jesus himself. And at the same time we have our flesh, weighting us down, slowing our progress, and cloudy our awareness. This human weakness requires a spiritual corrective if we want to stand on solid ground when our turn comes to be tested. We must not sleep as the disciples slept, but instead pray as the master prayed. We must not allow ourselves to abandon him in his hour of need, but instead keep watch with him.
My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass
without my drinking it, your will be done!
Jesus himself was not presumptuous. He did not simply assume and take for granted that he would act as he knew he must in the hour of his Passion. Instead he prepared himself in advance and by prayer set his mind and will for what was to come. This was when he set his "face like flint". But this was something more than the mere resolution to act stoically in the face of the violence he would undergo. Rather, it was a resolve to do his Father's will in spite of his human desire to avoid pain to which he committed himself. He decided for the the long-term and lasting joy that was set before him (see Hebrews 12:2) rather than short-term comfort and freedom from suffering.
Jesus prayed this way to teach us how to pray. If we allow sleep to overtake us we may neglect to gather the grace we will need when we face situations like that faced by Peter.
"You too were with Jesus the Galilean."
But he denied it in front of everyone, saying,
"I do not know what you are talking about!"
It is too easy to give in in the moment and to say what is convenient and easy rather than what is true. Jesus taught that we should not prepare in advance what we would say, because the words themselves would be given. But at the same time we are taught that we should prepare constantly by prayerful resolve of our will to be ready always and everywhere to bear witness to the Son of God, the reason for the hope that is in (see First Peter 3:15). This was why the last lines of the prayer Jesus taught were "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" (see Matthew 6:13). Though it is often precisely in repeating such prayers as this that our attention wavers it is nevertheless precisely here that may find preparation for what lies ahead. Martyrs were generally able to offer their lives because of the way they had dedicated themselves to the will of the Father and the Son in advance of the time when that resolve was tested. Because they committed themselves to the imitation of the attitude that was also in Christ Jesus who "emptied himself, taking the form of a slave" during their lives they were also able to follow him in their deaths.
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
The point for us is that we should prepare now with the gift of prayer and the example of Jesus himself that have been given to us. We shouldn't wait for the end and simply assume, or, we should say, presume upon God's mercy. Yes, God delights to show mercy. But we want to begin to avail ourselves of it now to make sure we are open to it during the hour of our trial.
Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken:
"Before the cock crows you will deny me three times."
He went out and began to weep bitterly.
Even with the best of intentions it is a given that our fallen human nature will sometimes prevail and we will sometimes fail to follow Jesus in generous freedom of heart. The good news for us is that God delights to give second chances. Although we ought not count on second chances in contemplating a plan of action, we may delight in them we see ourselves fallen and having succumbed to sin. We know that our failure can be the same for us as Peter's betrayal was for him, a doorway to deeper reconciliation, and greater commitment to the Father's will. The path that Peter failed to follow at first we know he did follow eventually. This, generally speaking, is the painful path by which all disciples may grow, and may hope to become one day fully trained and like our teacher (see Luke 6:40).
We remember that even though failures seem inevitable we have also been given examples of fidelity to inspire us to remain near to Jesus even during the darkest of times, among whom "were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee". These holy women followed the path that even the first pope feared to tread. We may imagine that their affection for Jesus himself instilled in them holy habits of prayer and that, when the time came, it was not even a question of what they would do. They would be as close to Jesus in his suffering as they could. They were the proto-contemplatives of the Christian tradition, desiring to share with Christ in everything.
Jesus took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and giving it to his disciples said,
"Take and eat; this is my body."
The Eucharist was the key context that revealed that what appeared to be merely a brutal death, and the ultimate failure of such a promising prophetic figure, was in fact a sacrificial offering to God. The death of Christ was not unintentional or something beyond his control. Rather he handed himself over to the Father for us, "for the forgiveness of sins". But even this was not the end goal, which was rather the life that we, free from sin, could share with him. This was his Father's will and the true joy set before him.
when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand (see Isaiah 53:10).
As we now draw near to the Triduum let us prepare ourselves with prayer. We should do this because, although we recognize the greatness of the feasts to come, we recognize also our own weakness, our inability to enter in as much as we would like. Spiritual warfare is common as any feast of the Church draws near because the devil does not want us to reap the benefits of grace that such feasts are meant to pour out. But if we avail ourselves of the grace now, we will be ready then, and will receive all that God intends for us.
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