The Agony in the Garden: A Call to Prayer
Jesus contemplates us on that night with a simple gaze. He looks upon souls and hearts in the light of His divine wisdom. Before His eyes passes the spectacle of all the sins of men, His brothers. He sees the deplorable opposition of so many who despise the satisfaction He offers for them, and the futility of His generous sacrifice for many. He feels a profound loneliness and moral pain due to rebellion and the lack of response to Divine Love.
Three times He seeks companionship in prayer from those three disciples. "Watch with me, stay by my side, do not leave me alone," He had asked them. And upon returning, He found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him. Perhaps, in that tremendous abandonment, He seeks a little company, a bit of human warmth. But the friends abandoned the Friend. That was a night to stay awake, to be in prayer; and they fall asleep. They do not yet love enough, and they allow themselves to be overcome by weakness and sadness, leaving Jesus alone. The Lord finds no support in them; they had been chosen for that, and they failed.
Staying Vigilant Against Temptation
We must always pray, but there are moments when that prayer must be intensified. To abandon it would be like leaving Christ abandoned and leaving ourselves at the mercy of the enemy. "Why do you sleep?" He says to them—and He says it to us as well. "Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation." That is why we say to Jesus:
"If You see that I sleep; if You discover that pain frightens me; if You notice that I stop upon seeing the Cross more closely, do not leave me! Tell me, as You told Peter, James, and John, that You need my response, my love. Tell me that to follow You, to not leave You abandoned again with those who plot Your death, I must rise above sleep, my passions, and my comfort."
Our daily meditation, if it is true prayer, will keep us vigilant against the enemy who does not sleep. It will make us strong to endure and overcome temptations and difficulties. If we were to neglect it, we would find ourselves in the hands of the enemy, we would lose our joy, and we would find ourselves without the strength to accompany Jesus.
Accompanying the Lord Today
Today, too, Jesus desires our company. And "without prayer, how difficult it is to accompany Him!"; our personal experience tells us so. But if we grow strong in our daily relationship with Him, we will be able to say to Him with certainty: "Even if I must die with You, I will never deny You." Peter could not keep his promise that night, among other reasons, because he did not persevere in the prayer his Lord asked of him. After his repentance, he would be faithful to his Master until giving his life for Him, years later.
HCD