Jesus' trial and temptation after His baptism has been well documented in the scripture. The bible tells of His three fold trials in the wilderness by Satan. A much deeper temptation , that which was not much apparent as the wilderness temptation occurred at the Garden of Gethsemane, and upon Jesus` overcoming that temptation was that which the destiny of our salvation was entwined.
God was tried at Gethsemane, reminiscent of the temptation at Eden and the crisis of Abraham whereby he was asked to sacrifice his only son. Here at Gethsemane, we see the supreme action of God , putting forward His son in sacrifice.
Most of our trials in life are easier borne once they have been overcome interiorly; so in this sense we can say , even the trial at Calvary could not have been possible if Christ had not overcome the ordeals of the Garden at Gethsemane.
I would like to compare the experience of the 3 disciples of Christ on Mount Tabor during the Transfiguration of Christ with their experience at Gethsemane during His agony . We see that on both occasions , these disciples : Peter , James and John were worn out with sleep, but we can ask ourselves: how did they keep awake on Mount Tabor but would not overcome the drowsiness at Gethsemane?
Many of us live by the senses, we derive pleasures only out of the spectacular as dictated by what we see, hear, taste, breathe or feel. We are immediately drawn towards marvellous and miraculous signs such that unless there are acts like these, it becomes difficult for us to perceive God`s actions in the ordinary . We do not see God in our daily duties, much less when we are under pressures, temptations or trials .
It is this apparent weakness of man which prevented the three disciples from keeping awake during the trials of Christ at Gethsemane; they became so much insensitive to the ordeals of the Lord , thereby contributing to putting the salvation of so many at risk.Scripture tells us that God`s strength is made so perfect in our weaknesses. It is when we feel so much incapable of loving, and that we would wish to love anyway, that God`s greatness is perfectly manifested the more . Christ knew this and struggled against not loving at Gethsemane, but the insensitive hearts of the disciples was oblivious of the circumstance of Christ and would not struggle against their drowsiness in order to assist Him and they easily succumbed to slumber. That was the reason Christ admonished them to watch and pray so that they would not fall into sin. The greatest sin is to be insensitive to the plight of our neighbour who is in need.
Christ tells us in the scripture to labour not for the meat which perish but that which endures unto eternal life. God who is Truth tells us of the need for authentic work , which is that of striving for the meat that endures unto eternal life. This meat is His flesh in the Holy Eucharist.
It is because we seem more prone to the spectacular that we fail to see the actions of Christ in the Holy Eucharist who calls us to comfort Him in His longing for souls. Christ wishes the best for us,He would want to pour out His love , wisdom, strength, mercy and graces on us, but we are asleep; truly asleep, because , when we are entirely focused on making money without visiting Him, without eating Him, we loose out on authentic wisdom and on what salvation is truly about. Do we spend an hour in a week at least , talking to Him in the Eucharist? He asks us as He did ask the disciples. Can you not spend an hour with me? He needs our company.
