By Elisabeth Rain Kincaid
Jesus said, wait with me. But the disciples slept.
Mary Oliver’s haunting poem, “Gethsemane,” contrasts the faithfulness of elements of nature to...
This is the melancholy of Gethsemane: the realization that the road ahead to God lies through moments of despondency, “accompanied” by people too tired themselves even to stay awake while you cry out in frustration.
We see in our readings that when Jesus prays for us to be united to him and to the Father, there is then no other way we can choose if we are to be blessed, apart from the one that the Father gives Jesus.
This week’s readings for the Good Book Club’s journey through John’s Gospel move us ever-closer to the Gospel’s climax, and the end of Jesus’s earthly life and ministry.
The work of preparing to receive Holy Eucharist is not meant to scare us off. Nor is it meant to erect barriers. On the contrary, our preparation is meant to instill within us reverence and respect for the incredible gift of the Eucharist.
