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I have been lucky enough to pilgrimage to the Holy Lands and one place that I visited that had a profound impact on me, was the Garden of Gethsemane.
I remember reading the Gospel about how Jesus was so incredibly frustrated that his best friends couldn’t stay awake while he prayed. We saw the stone that they say Jesus cried upon, knowing that he was to be betrayed by the ones he loved and painfully put to death. It made me feel so sad that he had to experience so much pain, and I imagined how lonely and isolating those moments were felt by him, in a fully human experience.
Travelling through the Holy Lands, I feel I finally got to know Jesus; to understand his humanity. How hot he must have felt in the heat of the desert; how the cool water of the Sea of Galilee would have been such a sweet relief, and I imagined him being on a fishing boat with twelve of his best friends laughing and joking and hanging out together.
It was in the Garden of Gethsemane I realized Jesus could also be scared: he could be frustrated, sad and even lack confidence. I realised that the crucifix that I had seen my entire life actually connected me to Jesus. There was no pain, hurt, fear, humiliation or sadness that I could feel that he had not personally felt. It was an incredible moment for me and one that I continually reflect upon.
I have spoken about these feeling and this realisation with students when they challenge the existence of a God who doesn’t answer prayers, cure the world of famine and disease, or those they love who are ill. They find it hard to believe in a God who lets bad things happen to them. There is an entitlement that God needs to prove Godself like a magician who exists to please them instead of the other way around.
Then we reflect on the image of our faith – a crucified Christ – and realise that we are not promised magical cures or a pain free life, but what we are promised is that throughout the pain, we are not alone and beyond the pain there is beauty waiting for us – THERE IS RESURRECTION…
Today’s readings bring me back to these thoughts and these moments. There is a real entitlement amongst the disciples, and I don’t really blame them. They gave everything up to follow Jesus and they are still not guaranteed anything. Even his best friends! In fact, we know that the ones who were at Jesus’ right and left hand in the end were criminals who were crucified alongside him.
So, what does servant leadership look like today? How do we do it and how do we teach it, especially while trying to battle the complications and expectations of modern living? How do we fulfill the call of Jesus to be servant?
Max Lucardo’s quote brings me to a place that I can rest my thinking “No one can do everything, but everyone can do something.” And so, to enact this leadership model that we have been baptized into we act through the Principles of Catholic Social Teaching. We BE servant to the earth and creation by reducing the number of plastics that we consume. We BE servant to those in need and ensure that we don’t just donate, that we give enough that we have to go without something. We BE servant to the person who doesn’t align with our own lifestyle or belief system, by treating them with dignity and respect knowing that they are also a child of God.
During times of truly painful experiences, of grief and loss, we remember that Jesus wept over a stone and asked for his cup of suffering to be taken away – and even he still had to endure it. The Resurrection is imminent, my challenge and our challenge is to work for it.
Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
