" Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” " (Matthew 26:36-39)
Filled and overwhelmed with sorrow, longing for compassion...off to the side I stand and pray that God will take this cup from me. Yet, I gain immense understanding and love in sharing in the pain of these words. I am filled with gratitude, that even against the most unlikely of odds, I live and am alive to this day.
What is compassion? (defn: sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it) What is it to be compassionate? (defn: having or showing compassion : sympathetic, 2: granted because of unusual distressing circumstances affecting an individual)
Do I think, at this time in Jesus' journey, that he desired some compassion? He called out for it, he asked for it, so I would assume yes. But maybe, just maybe, the his overwhelming sorrow would bring about an overflowing fruit of compassion within the world even if, at the time he asked for it, it wasn't there. It makes me think back to many situations in my life, where, I cried out, and even though at the time I cried compassion didn't come to my rescue, I got to see how my cry answered the silent cry of many. I got to see the fruit of my perseverance and faith in relief serve to the benefit of more than just myself.
At this time I cry...and God is answering. Offering comfort, understanding, encouragement, and healing. His compassion is evident. My gratitude and love grows deeper, transforming even past pains and trials, bringing them forward to serve as strength and witness for something great happening now. Leaving past hurts and sorrows healed in the very palms of my hands today. And even though I still bare the cup, and that it has not been taken from me, I know that its drink will serve as compassion, comfort, triumph, and encouragement for others ahead of me. I am willing to carry it, if God has allowed me to have it. It will run over a wealth of blessings in the end...it will help to alleviate the distress of others and serve to the joy of a faithful servant and the understanding of those who, at this time, cannot hear the call.
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort." ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-7
From the stumbling man that people thought was drunk (completely lucid and confident), to my fun coworkers, to the lady on the bus, to the smiling man on my way to work, to the man having back pains and not wearing shoes, to the kid in the elevator telling a story while eating a donut, to his dad that listened to all the details, to the bank teller who had a successful surgery, to the new and beautiful cashier at the store I get my gum, to the man I saw twice while looking for a washroom, to the bus driver who stops for Starbucks each morning, to the PhD student home for the holidays and enjoys a hawks eye view of the world....
