March 30: Let This Cup Pass from Me
♫ Music:
Day 26 - Sunday, March 30
Title: Let This Cup Pass from Me
Scripture: Matthew 26:39–46 (NKJV)
He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”
Poetry & Poet:
“Agony in the Garden”
by Ketha Spicer
A bitter boy knelt in a pile of dirt,
And tears furrowed his cheek. A spinach leaf
Covered him, and the young corn hid his grief.
The morning had grown to acres of hurt,
And there was no way out. Weeding was doom.
No plastic soldiers now would charge the peas,
Or cool Tonka trucks rumble through the seas
Of carrot tops. Amidst the onions gloom
Was all. The glory of a sunflower
In August, or a cabbage in the fall,
Was not enough to stop his cry. He’d weep,
And weep again, before the sorry hour
Had passed. For now, the sweat and filth were all
The harvest he could see, or think to reap.
“IF POSSIBLE, LET THIS CUP PASS FROM ME”
Today’s biblical text is not an easy one to read or understand but there are two important things to notice. First, Jesus’ prayer to the Father contains an interesting qualification, “if it is possible.” Was it possible? Well, Jesus knew that “with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). So, in one sense, yes, it was possible for the cup to pass from him. Yet, Christian theologians have been consistent in their thinking that fallen humanity’s redemption could only be accomplished by a God-man. And Jesus was that God-man. Thus, it was not possible. What is the more important thing here is that Jesus’ “if it is possible” goes away in his subsequent prayers. Jesus only qualifies his first request but the next two prayers suggest that Jesus now knows that it is not possible for the cup to pass so instead he asks that God the Father’s will be done in him.
And this brings us to the second thing to notice: the Garden of Gethsemane is about Jesus aligning his will with God’s will. From the very beginning of his prayer, Jesus only wants what the Father wants. Is this not what we ask whenever we pray as Jesus taught us: “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10)? The real agony in the Garden of Gethsemane was the agony of Jesus, as man, surrendering his will to God the Father’s will. That Jesus sweat drops of blood over this decision (Luke 22:44) suggests that it was a real decision. That is, Jesus, as a human, needed to submit his will to the Father’s. Jesus’ sufferings here are not stagecraft but they are born out of the psychological and emotional torment that following God’s will means “becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8).
And so, it is for all humans desirous to do the will of God. To align our wills with God’s will, to do what he wills for us even when it is hard, especially when it could require death. But is there any greater exercise of our free will than to give it up, freely? Is not the best decision that we can make, is to freely surrender our will to God’s will so that his will is done on earth and in heaven? Yes, it is. Thus, when we read today’s lesson let us see not only Jesus in agony but Jesus wholly free as he has aligned his will with the Father’s. In his own words, “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me” (John 6:38). Thanks be to God!
Prayer:
O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore you. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I should do; give me your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that you desire of me and to accept all that you permit to happen to me. Let me only know your will. Amen
– Joseph Mercier
Rev. Greg Peters, Ph.D., S.M.D.
Professor of Medieval and Spiritual Theology
Torrey Honors College
Biola University
Vicar of Anglican Church of the Epiphany
La Mirada, California
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Art:
Jesus' High Priestly Prayer from the series Gethsemane
Iain McKillop
Oil on canvas
The Garden of Gethsemane is where Jesus prayed the night before He was taken into custody. In his painting, artist Iain McKillop purposefully depicts Christ in pale bluish moonlight. Christ’s hands, stretched out in agonizing and earnest prayer, are deathly pale, and His whole figure seems pierced by sharp tangles and shadows of the brambles of the garden, portending His impending suffering and His sacrificial death on the cross. McKillop explores Christ’s inner struggle—showing not only the divine but also the human nature of Christ, who is experiencing the weight and magnitude of His imminent death.
About the Artist:
Iain McKillop is a British painter, Anglican priest, and art historian working mainly in the field of Christian sacred art. Iain has exhibited works in many cathedrals and churches throughout the United Kingdom, with permanent works in Gloucester Cathedral, Bury St. Edmunds, Mirfield, Ewell, and Aldershot. McKillop is a regular retreat leader, speaker, and writer on issues of faith, art, and art history. McKillop illustrated the book entitled Stations of the Resurrection by best-selling poet Malcolm Guite and the admired writer Bishop Guli Francis-Dehqan (published in 2024).
https://mckillop.weebly.com/gethsemane.html
About the Music: “I Stand Amazed in the Presence of Jesus the Nazarene”
Lyrics:
I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene.
And wonder how He could love me,
A sinner condemned, unclean.
For me it was in the garden,
He prayed: “Not My will, but Thine.”
He had no tears for His own griefs,
But sweat-drops of blood for mine.
How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!
In pity angels beheld Him,
And came from the world of light.
To comfort Him in the sorrows,
He bore for my soul that night.
He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calv’ry,
And suffered, and died alone.
How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!
When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see,
’Twill be my joy through the ages
To sing of His love for me.
How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me! (x2)
About the Composer:
Charles Hutchinson Gabriel (1856–1932) was an American composer and lyricist of gospel songs and gospel tunes. He is said to have written and/or composed between seven thousand and eight thousand songs, many of which are available in twenty-first-century hymnals. Gabriel edited thirty-five gospel songbooks, eight Sunday school songbooks, seven books for male choruses, six books for ladies, ten children's songbooks, nineteen collections of anthems, twenty-three choir cantatas, forty-one Christmas cantatas, ten children's cantatas, and books on musical instruction. Eventually he served as music director at Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, San Francisco, California (1890–2). While working at Grace Church, he was asked to write a song for a mission celebration. He wrote "Send the Light,” which became his first commercial song. He moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he began working with Homer Rodeheaver's publishing company.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_H._Gabriel
About the Performers: Congregational singing at The Shepherd’s Conference for Pastors, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California
The mission of Shepherds Conference is to provide the opportunity for men in church leadership to be challenged in their commitment to biblical ministry and to find encouragement as together they seek to become more effective servants of our chief Shepherd.
www.shepherdsconference.org
About the Poetry and Poet:
Ketha Spicer is an American poet. Spicer is the second of nine children born to devout evangelical parents. In 1994, she entered the Catholic Church through the influence of her sister. She lives in Vancouver, Washington, where she was born and where she keeps tabs on her extended family as well as her two daughters and their families. She released a self-published book on Amazon in 2016.
https://www.dappledthings.org/poetry/4742/the-agony-in-the-garden
About the Devotion Writer:
Rev. Greg Peters, Ph.D., S.M.D.
Professor of Medieval and Spiritual Theology
Torrey Honors College
Biola University
Vicar of Anglican Church of the Epiphany
La Mirada, California
Dr. Greg Peters is a professor in the Torrey Honors College at Biola University and vicar of Anglican Church of the Epiphany, La Mirada. He is also the author of The Monkhood of All Believers: The Monastic Foundation of Christian Spirituality.