Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done.’ (Luke 22:42)

When I am under pressure, I can forget my faith, I can forget to pray. Jesus’ faith in this situation is both real and exemplary. It is real because no sane person wants to suffer. It is exemplary because he transcended his own needs and fears. As humans, we don’t have all the answers but must trust in God. Our reliance on God is a facet of the full life toward which we are all called at Easter. Our reliance on God takes us away from self to see a bigger picture where we can each play our part to build community.

It’s also very human to expect an answer to our prayer on our terms. We may dress up our desire expertly, but if we scrape past the veneer ‘what we want’ from God can seem childish, placing God in the role of indulgent parent. Rather, if we trust in God our prayer will be answered – but maybe not as we expected: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference”

Have a great week!
Patrick