Chapel Homily: Nov. 5, 2024

"Jesus and Lament"

Introduction
I want to begin today with something that has nothing to do with today's text. And that is this: You walked in here this morning as a person known and loved by God. You will walk out of here in about 18 minutes known and loved by God. You arrived this morning as a person redeemed by the sacrifice of Jesus. You will leave here and go about the rest of your day as a person redeemed by the sacrifice of Jesus. I just wanted to remind you of that really, really good news. Quiz later.

If you've ever heard me speak, you'll know that I hope to have something in a message that allows us to laugh. That laughter is even better when it's made at my expense. But today's topic is Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, in anguish. And so, my message today will be chuckle and tee hee-free. But, that is not to suggest that this message will lack assurances and encouragement. It will have those things.

Back in the day, as an undergraduate student, when I sat right here in the Seeley Mudd Chapel, I planned to be a high school math teacher. Never happened. However, I spent a lot of time in teacher education courses, where I learned that it's helpful to a) tell people what you are going to tell them; b) tell them; and then c) when you're done telling them, tell them what you told them.

Here's what I'm going to tell you in the next 10 minutes: You will experience difficult and painful things in your life. You know that. Scripture is full of examples where people lament, where they call out to God. Faithful people in the Bible are sometimes bewildered. And when they are, they bring their stuff to the Lord. They offer up prayers that are really honest and really bold. They plead for God to take away their suffering, the suffering of their loved ones, or maybe the suffering of the world. They ask God to show up. And this important "and;" And, these hurting people put their trust in God and His perfect will for their lives. Jesus did those things in the Garden of Gethsemane . . . He called to a Lord who is listening and present.

Let me pray: Lord, by your grace and Holy Spirit, may these words be useful in your sight and for your purposes. Amen.

Setting: Between this and that

Let's get a sense of the place and context. The Garden of Gethsemane is just east of Jerusalem and at the foot of the Mount of Olives. Across the narrow Kidron Valley are the walls of Jerusalem. This was a familiar place where Jesus and his disciples would gather. From the garden, Jesus can see to his upper left the place where hours later he would be held and questioned by the high priest Caiaphas. To his right is the place where he will be beaten, scourged, and questioned by Pilate. Somewhere in the distance is where he will be crucified.

Let's situate this moment in the garden by bookending what had just recently happened and what is to come for Jesus—two of his disciples jockeyed for favoritism—not exactly the best behavior for such close followers of Jesus; Jesus has been scolded by Peter; he's been betrayed by Judas; and his disciples, whom he's asked to stay awake, don't. And then for events to come after the garden, it appears that Jesus knows what's before him—beating, scourging, mocking, crucifixion, death and separation from God. It's between those bookended events that we see Jesus here, in the Garden of Gethsemane, on his knees, overwhelmed, making an appeal to God.

Luke 22:39-46. 39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." 41 He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.[a]
45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."

Jesus is anguished. He laments. He makes a plea. "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me. Yet not my will, but yours be done."

This word "lament." It can be a noun or a verb. Used like this, lament is a verb. It's an action. That means lament is something we do. About half of the Psalms are ones of lament, so lament is a familiar theme in the Bible. A sampler plate of the voices of God's people:

Psalm 13:1 "How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" Psalm 6:3 "My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?" Psalm 130:1 "Out of the depths I cry to you, oh Lord, hear my voice!" Jesus cries out on the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" the same thing that King David had said in Psalm 22.

And don't we have reason to lament today: Friends and colleagues with severe illnesses; wars and tensions around the world; children coming to school every day in this city with nothing in their stomachs. People experiencing terrible loneliness. Broken relationships. The list of awful things is just too long. How long. Oh, Lord? Don't you see these things? Won't you please make these things right? Where are you, Lord?

Back to Jesus in the Garden:

We see him in the midst of a spiritual battle. Remember, this is the same Jesus who not long before this had resolutely set his face towards Jerusalem. That was an image of strength and courage and resolve. But now, here, the text says He is in anguish. Nothing in Scripture compares to the agony we see here in Jesus. We see his loneliness. He is distressed and troubled. He knows that death is in front of him and in a torturous way. He will be pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our inequities. By accepting the Father's will, he will experience spiritual darkness and separation from God. His sweat is like drops of blood. The reality of Jesus' struggle is intense.

And He prays. Or maybe it's better to say that he wrestled in prayer. "Take this cup from me." Jesus is genuinely asking that the role of suffering servant be taken away. And here, Jesus has a choice. He can turn his back on God's will for him and for the world. But instead, Jesus accepts what he could not understand. He resolves to obey the will of the Father.

What might we take for ourselves from this prayer of lament by Jesus?

First, we can bring our laments boldly and honestly to God.

Really? Am I really allowed to talk to God that way? The way those Psalmists talked, it all seems so disrespectful. Aren't these laments just rants and gripe sessions? Maybe it would just be better to bury these feelings and heartaches. Swallow hard. Suck it up. Put on a happy face. Just fake it.

That is not what Scripture suggests here. God wants to hear about your pain. He wants to hear about your sorrows and confusion. We are invited to cry out and ask our most difficult questions and share our deepest sorrows. Our doubts and questions are a natural part of faith. If we believe what we read in Scripture, and we should, faithful people wrestle with God. You can, too.

Bring our laments prayerfully

We should commit ourselves to repeatedly turning to the Lord in both joy and sorrow.

Prayer is not a passive activity. We are to be vigilant in our prayers. Take up God on the model of the Psalmists. Be doers of the verb "lament." Verbalized what burdens your soul.

Ask for action

We are to beg God to intervene. Why? Because he is loving. Because he is faithful. Because he is a God of promise, Scripture allows to shout out, just as the Psalmist did, "Arise, oh Lord!!' We are invited to ask God to pay attention to the hard things of the world.

And we can make these appeals because we are addressing God's character and expressing confidence in who he is.

Know that God hears you
You may have seen or read about the tragic stories of overcrowded orphanages. These are places horribly understaffed, where infants receive no attention and certainly no loving care. The silence in those nurseries is eerie. We are told that babies in those nurseries, after some time, simply don't cry. That's not because they don't need anything, but it's because they learned that no one cared enough to answer and no one is coming.

You and me, we are made to cry out. As children of God, we have a great Caregiver, Capital C caregiver, who is never out of hearing distance. Our laments are evidence that we know of this heavenly power greater than ourselves. Why else to call out?
 
Trust and surrender
In our best moments, we cling to the Lord's promises, this God of steadfast love. After laying out our laments, we turn to the hope in His promises.

So, let's not pull away from the one who knows our sorrows. Continue to talk to God even when things are messy. Trust in God's presence even in the fog.

Prayers of lament are what we might call "prayers in the meantime." Prayers while God is working out his perfect will. Because Jesus is risen from the dead, sorrow is not how the story ends.

Close
Things happen to every one of us that we cannot understand. Your faith may be tested to its very limits. In the Garden, Jesus went through that, too. For each of us, there may be times when we feel all alone and our closest friends flee. And in that loneliness, may we recall that Jesus experienced those very things. And in his agony, we see how Jesus trusted. He called out "Abba," a name of ultimate trust.

May we be attentive to our friends who lament. May we be people who stay awake when our friends are in anguish. And in all that, hard as it can be, may we know in our bones that we have a God in Heaven who hears our cries. Amen.

Benediction
Do you remember from 18 minutes ago? You are what? Say it. Known and loved by God. Redeemed in Christ.

Call upon the Lord. Be honest. Be prayerful. Be trusting. Surrender.

Go now, knowing that not only does God know your voice, He hears it.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.