Go to Dark Gethsemane

One of my favorite Holy Week hymns is Go to Dark Gethsemane. I am haunted by the words: "Watch with him one bitter hour; turn not from his griefs away, learn from Jesus Christ to pray." Any of us who has been on the journey know how difficult it is to hold ourselves in this space.   As Janet Hagberg and Bob Guelich write in The Critical Journey: "We thought the journey led to healing. We didn't think we'd be invited to suffer."

To be sure, the journey does offer healing, just not by the route we expected. Instead, it takes us through loss and shame. It takes us to Calvary. While the cross takes different shapes for each of us, there is no bypassing the pain if we are to discover the wholeness for which we so deeply yearn.

For some of us, making the journey involves addressing issues of ego. With the best of intentions, we confuse our gifts and desires with God's will. For others of us, low self-esteem gets in the way. We cannot imagine, let alone accept, that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). Still others of us carry guilt and shame that gets in the way of God's forgiveness born of the cross. Whatever the reasons, we resist going to dark Gethsemane.

Holy Week calls for surrender. It calls for kenosis: for emptying of all that holds us apart from God. At the foot of the cross, God invites us to let go of all that stands in the way of our relationship with the Triune God. The gift of such emptying is that we then have room to be filled with the glory of God. Such filling brings awareness of God's grace at work in our lives; the gift of wholeness born out of our brokenness.

Holy Week is upon us. My prayer is that you will not hop from Palm Sunday to Easter, but dare to make the journey through the shadows of the cross.

With Lenten blessings,

Debbie Rundlett

General Presbyter

Holy Habit: Pondering Grace

As you journey to the cross and beyond the empty tomb this next week, take some time to ponder God's grace in your life. How might this Holy Week journey help you grow in wholeness and love? What is the grace that you need from God?

Receive God's blessing through the words of artist-poet, Jan Richardson:

BECAUSE GRACE

A Blessing

Because it does not

wait for daylight.

Because it does not

sit in idleness

until peace arrives.

Because it does not

depend on ease

or plenty.

Because it does not

give way to fear.

Because trouble

cannot harm it.

Because darkness

cannot hide it.

Because terror

cannot kill it.

Because hatred

cannot halt it.

Because grace.

Evangelism, Discipleship and Mission

A presentation and workshop by David Loleng

Associate for Evangelism, Presbyterian Church (USA)

How can we effectively share the gospel in our ever-changing cultural landscape?  How can we move from a membership model of church to a disciple-making model?  How can we be a part of not only the transformation of individuals but also the transformation of our neighborhoods and communities?  

Come hear how you can authentically share your faith, grow as disciples and be sent out beyond the walls of our churches to join in God's mission in workplaces, neighborhoods and communities. 

Medina Presbyterian Church

Saturday, March 28, 9:00 AM to Noon

Presented by Medina Presbyterian Church with the support of the Presbytery of the Western Reserve Leadership Development Ministry

Click here for registration details.