Our Gethsemane

“Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to feel sorrow and distress. Then he said to them, “My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me.”

Matthew 26:36-38 (NAB)

We shouldn’t need to wait for Holy Week to realize the relevance of the garden of Gethsemane, in each of our lives. Jesus asked His closest friends, “Stay with me, my soul is sorrowful even to death.” The garden is where we see the humanity of Jesus in totally raw form, and He wanted His friends nearby, in that emotionally stressful time, as His arrest and impending death was a reality.

The word Gethsemane, in Hebrew means, olive press. An olive press crushes olives, squeezing all the oil out of them. Jesus was emotionally and spiritually crushed in the garden of Gethsemane, and had everything squeezed out of Him. 

We might experience a garden of Gethsemane in our own lives, through some type of sorrow, affliction or a tragedy that we have no control over. It causes us to feel emotionally pressed or squeezed, but Jesus knows what it’s like to be crushed in that olive press. We cannot control the events that happen in our lives, but we can trust Jesus to empathize with us and be here with us. The pressing in our garden is what produces oil, and that oil becomes a healing balm to share with others. 

The garden was a preparation for Jesus, before going to the cross. We are also prepared and strengthened for every trial we face. The healing balm that comes from the oil of our olive press, is what we comfort others with, who share a similar tragedy, sorrow or affliction. 

Every believer has a Gethsemane experience. It might have happened in their past, or could be happening in the present. I went through a type of Gethsemane when my adult son, Jon, suffered a traumatic brain injury from a motorcycle accident in 2023. His life came to a crushing halt, by being physically and mentally disabled, and he’s been living in a Nursing Facility ever since. 

He’s made progress in his recovery, but that entire event was not only his, but my Gethsemane. Within that olive press, an oil of healing was produced in both of us. If Jon is ever able to talk about it, he will have a good story to tell. While we are being crushed in the olive press, we don’t always realize that a healing balm comes from the oil, which later becomes a blessing shared with others, who are going through something similar.

The first effect of the oil of healing for me was the peace in knowing that God loves our children and our loved ones, more than we do. I met the parents of a young man about my son’s age, who also resides at the same Nursing Facility. God brought me and Andy’s parents together, since we both had adult sons who nearly died, yet survived a serious brain injury. Both of our sons are slowly recovering, but we now share a special bond as parents, united in the healing balm from the oil of being mutually pressed.

There is also a peace in knowing that God is deeply interested and fully invested in our lives. He goes so far as to connect us with others who share a similar experience. Jesus empathizes with every kind of pain, whether it is emotional or physical, because He experienced both, and He uses people to comfort each other.

The oil of healing that comes from our garden of Gethsemane is a personal realization that God is love, and because He loves us, He not only sacrificed His Son for us, but shares His suffering and resurrection with us. He not only promises us a spiritual resurrection and renewal in this life, but also a literal resurrection in the life to come. 

God created us to thrive as a community, and when we experience the oil press in our garden, we are able to give the gift of empathy and comfort to others who suffer in a similar way. We may never know in this life, how all these things could possibly work together for our eternal good, but one day we will know and see everything clearly.

Jesus told us to let the children come to Him, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. There’s a depth of wisdom hidden in those words. It’s always best to entrust our children to Jesus, whether they are infants, young children, or adults. In His infinite wisdom, Jesus will draw all children closer to Himself, and He does it in different ways from person to person. 

Whether we are parents or not, our strength comes through times of adversity, which occasionally may become our Gethsemane. Any way we look at this difficult topic, God’s oil of healing gives us the strength for every future challenge, by learning to trust in His love. The strength Jesus found in the garden, came from knowing that His Father loved Him, and love enabled Him to move forward and face the cross.

God will take our tragedies and work all things together for the eternal good of every soul involved. Every loss is a lesson, grief reaps an inner growth, and when we are pressed like olives, we gain renewed strength to press on and bring the oil of healing to others. 

Jesus didn’t ask much of Peter, James and John. He only asked them to “remain here and keep watch with Me.” We have a great gift to give, by remaining to keep watch with someone who is going through their own Gethsemane. 

When someone would tell me that they were praying for my son, it felt like another drop of healing balm to my soul. We were meant to be a blessing to each other by simply being there with them. Showing empathy is the fruitful result of the healing balm that flows out of the pressing process of Gethsemane.

Peace can be found in that garden as we realize Jesus is holding on to us. He, who went through it all before us, is still with us, walking along side us in empathy, as He leads us from the garden into greener pastures.

Lord, bring your healing balm to all who are pressed or grieving today. Strengthen us by your love, so that we may empathize and comfort others who are also suffering. Amen

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