Never Prayed
Originally scheduled for April 24
It is a curious fact, and seldom mentioned. Concerning the
resurrection, Christ often taught his disciples that this was
something that was prophesied in the Old Testament. In doing this,
Christ taught his disciples that this was God’s purpose from the
beginning, and was not an accident or an attempt to regain control
over a mission which had gone astray. Indeed, he himself prophesied
it. He warned his disciples that it was going to come — and they
probably misunderstood what he said. It’s hard not to sympathize
with the disciples on this one; after all, nobody had ever done this
before. Had he told them of the coming of the atomic bomb, they
could have been no more bewildered. But one thing concerning the
resurrection that Christ never did: he never prayed for it. Not once
did he ask his Father about the resurrection. He took it as a matter
of fact; God said it would be done, and done it would be.
We might well ask, then, what did he pray for? There are
three things I might point out to you:
·
He prayed “that this cup might pass from me.” It is of some comfort
to those of us who suffer that Christ greatly feared the suffering
and death that he was about to endure. He is human, like us, and
being nailed to a cross is not a ho-hum experience.
·
He prayed that “nevertheless” that the Father’s will would be done,
not his own. If there was no way possible to avoid the cross (and
evidently there wasn’t) he signaled that he would be the willing
sacrifice, the Lamb of God.
·
He also prayed for us, the church. In particular he prayed for our
protection — from the power of Satan. His death had a purpose, the
establishment of the church. His suffering was necessary for this;
he would see to it that his suffering and sacrifice were not in
vain.
We are taught that we should take communion “in remembrance
of him.” This morning may I particularly bring to your mind some of
the remembrances:
·
Take communion in remembrance of his
fears. He stared a horrible death in the face and went to it
willingly. In this he was totally human; it is wrong to say that
being God this fear was not real. Any reasonable human being would
have been afraid of the suffering, and Christ was completely human.
·
Take communion in remembrance of his
suffering. His was not a swift, painless death (as we might inflict
capital punishment on someone). His was a slow, agonizing death
delivered by soldiers who knew exactly how to maximize his
suffering.
·
Take communion in remembrance of his
death. None of us has experienced death and come back to tell about
it. If you are fully human, death includes the dread of the unknown.
It also includes the remorse of the “if only.” Looking backward, you
ask if you could’ve done better. Looking forward, you ask, what
comes next?
Even though he knew the resurrection was coming, the
suffering — and the love which put him through it — were completely
genuine. As you take communion, remember his fears, his suffering
and his death.
