“A Stone’s Throw Away from Sorrow”

“A Stone’s Throw Away from Sorrow”

Jacqueline Hines

Phoenixville Connexion  February 26, 2017

Luke 22.39-46

        If you are looking for Jesus today, you will find him at the Mount of Olives. The Garden of Gethsemane was there. It was a place of prayer and privacy with the help of the walls made of stone or perhaps trees. It was an agonizing time. Jesus was preparing to do what no one else could do. At the tender age of 33, he was ready to give his life as a sacrifice; he had come unto his own and his own received him not.

        He came to express God’s love in the flesh, to make God’s love real and visible in ways that the prophets and the law could only partially do. Yet in return for a message of miracles and a lot of love, he was spat upon. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. He was indeed a man of sorrow, acquainted with grief.

        There he knelt in fervent prayer. His heart was nearly fainting with grief. Sadly, God’s people had sinned; someone must go and save them and cover them with the love blood shield of protective righteousness. God’s people, in their dedication to sin, were in danger, for their sins would cause much harm and much trouble. Danger! Danger! Danger! Sin puts us in danger -Sins of omission, sins of commission. We God’s people need Jesus to save us from our sins.

Jesus had gathered a few disciples for a time of prayer. Prayer is serious business. It was peaceful in the olive garden. The olives reminded them of the anointing oil used to symbolize God’s call to come, come and be healed. Come, come and be delivered. Come, come and be saved from all that your sins can do to destroy your life.

The garden, where they had prayed so often, was a reminder of God’s love, power and presence. Three things happened in that garden that we must never forget. Number one, the first thing we must not forget is what Jesus said to the disciples. He said, “Pray.” Pray so you will not enter into temptation.

Seven days without prayer makes one weak (week). We must pray to avoid some trouble. As the songwriter put it, “Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” Most people say they pray when they are in trouble. But it is wise to pray so we can avoid certain troubles.

We can’t avoid having some trouble. The scriptures say, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of them all.” Sometimes we have to pray to get safely out of the trouble we’re in.

Pray! Pray! Pray! We must never forget that Jesus warns us to pray.

After he said that he went to another part of the garden to pray himself. When he left, he told the disciples to pray so they would not enter into temptation. He did not go very far, only a stone’s throw away. He got down on his knees and prayed the most agonizing prayer anyone could every pray, “Not my will but your will be done, Father.” Here’s my money, Lord. Not my will but yours be done, Father. Here’s my refrigerator, Lord. Not my will but yours be done, Father….here’s my time, my attitude, my vocabulary, my lifestyle…my worries, my fears…Not my will, but yours be done, oh God.

This is the second thing that happened in the garden hat we need to remember. We need to remember that Jesus prayed: “Not my will, but your will be done, Father.

       

        Oh, how we need to pray more often: “Have your way, Lord. Have your way. I surrender, Lord. I know you have a purpose and a plan for my life. I know you intend no harm to me only a future filled with hope. You say so in Jeremiah 29.11. I know I can trust you, so I will obey. I know you know all things. You know the beginning and the end. You know, Lord, better than I where I need to be broken in order to be blessed. Not my will, but your will, Lord.

        When Jesus turned, to get comfort from the disciples, they were no more praying than the man on the moon. Instead they had fallen asleep. At first I felt sorry for them because the bible says they fell asleep because of sorrow.

        Why did they have sorrow? For the same reasons any of us have sorrow. It was dawning on them that the kingdom was coming, but it wasn’t coming as they expected. They knew they were going to be blessed, but the blessings did not always come when they wanted them. They knew the Holy Spirit would teach them, but it wasn’t the lesson they thought they needed to learn. It was dawning on them that they were on the winning team, but the enemy seemed to be laughing in their face and getting away with the cruelest treatment. They were afraid, and they were disappointed.

        When we look around the church universal, do we not also see that we too are a people of sorrow, acquainted with grief? Have not our hearts bled for the unkind deeds that Satan has perpetrated against us or our loved one? Have we not been disappointed time and time again because someone has failed to be faithful or kind? Have not our bodies been wracked with pain and distress? Have we not cried out as Satan snatched a loved one into the slavery of sin and none but Jesus heard us? Do we not grieve the loss of our will and the dawning of God’s purpose in spite of our fondest wishes? How many times have we cried out for healing and relief but God seemed to be silent.

        Yet, it seems to me that God is rarely silent. What most often is the case is that we do not want to hear the answer. God’s ways are not our ways. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 53.8, 9)

        Just think about it. A blind man asked for healing and Jesus put mud on his eyes and sends him to a pool to wash it off. One thing is for sure, he probably needed someone to go with him to guide him. The Lord always has a way of getting us together with other people because we need them or they need us or God just wants to bless us in ways we cannot begin to imagine.

        Another man with leprosy who came to Jesus for healing was sent to wash seven times in the Jordan River across the way where those other people lived. The first thing the man thought was “I have water in my own back yard among people I know. Why do I have to go over there, Jesus? Why is my healing wrapped up in the strength of my relationships? Why is my blessing in a strange place? --Because God is love and always wanting us to reconcile, and influence more territory for the good of all. Since Naaman wanted to meet the God who heals, he had to go to the Jordan and discover that the Lord our God is one God, and the only God. God is the God of us AND them.

        Things were not going as the disciples expected. They were sorrowful. We all understand the heartache that left the disciples sleeping for sorrow instead of praying.

        That is why we must never forget the third thing that happened in the garden. That is that Jesus withdrew merely a stone’s throw away from their sorrow.

        In our sorrows, Jesus is close by. All we need to do is call the name of “Jesus.” He is there all the time. When we call on him, things change for the better. When we call on him he promises to bring us through. When we call on him, a light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot put it out. When we call on him we feel more hopeful.

        At first I felt sorry for the disciples, exhausted and sleeping because of sorrow. Now I know that in the time of sorrow, when things are not going as we expect, it is better to wake up and call on him – Jesus. He’s right here to help us.

        In every area of our life, we need to call on him. If your body needs healing, call on him. If your neighbor won’t do right, call on him. If you need a friend, call on him. All we need to do is call on him. Jesus  -  a stone’s throw away from sorrow. AMEN!