Second Stop! The Garden of Gethsemane
Hello Friends!
It’s time to buckle up and start your engines….We are heading to our next stop! Do you remember where we went last week? We started out our journey be visiting the room where Jesus gathered with his disciples–with his friends. This room is called the Upper Room; and do yo know what happened there? That’s right! Jesus offered the Last Supper to his friends. Do you know what we call the Last Supper in our church? “Snack Time!” “Supper!” “The bread and juice!” These are all good guesses! We call the Last Supper “Holy Communion,” and during Holy Communion we de receive bread and juice–the body and blood of Christ–and some do think that it is snack time. But we know it’s more than a snack. Holy Communion is sacred and reminds us of Jesus’ love for us.
So during the Last Supper or Holy Communion, Jesus ate with his friends and told them that he has a new covenant, a new commandment, a new rule, for them that they must follow. This new rule is this, “Love one another as I, Jesus, have loved you.” This rule is for you too. Jesus wants you to love one another as he has loved you. He wants you to be kind to one another, be nice to one another, caring for one another, and especially be loving towards your brothers, sisters, parents, teachers, and friends. In the Upper Room, Jesus told all of us that love is greater than anything in this world. But, this love was about to be tested.
After Jesus ate with his friends, he took them to a garden known has Gethsemane. In this Garden, Jesus prayed and asked three of his friends to stay awake while he prayed. But, they didn’t stay awake. They fell asleep. After being up all day and eating a lot of food, they were tired. Jesus asked them to do one thing and they didn’t follow his instructions. Have you ever been told to do something and then you didn’t do it? If so, what happened? You got in trouble, right. Maybe your mom or dad got upset with with you. Jesus was the same way; he got upset with with friends. This isn’t the only thing that happened in the Garden, though.
Once Jesus was done praying, Jesus was captured by the bad people–the Roman Soldiers and High Priests who didn’t like Jesus: they didn’t love Jesus like Jesus wanted them too. Once Judas turned Jesus over to the Roman authority, Jesus was taken away and his friends ran away from the Garden leaving Jesus by himself. Jesus was all along. Having Jesus, the Roman Soldiers took Jesus to Caiaphas’s house where he would face his next challenge.
It’s time to leave the Garden. Buckle-up and start your engines. Our next stop is to a house in Jerusalem. I hope you are able to join us next week!
Your Friend, Holy Spirit!
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