Lent 3 – Senses of Brokenness: The Vision of Salvation (Loneliness)
Lent 3 – Senses of Brokenness: The Vision of Salvation (Loneliness)
Topic: Senses of Brokenness
March 15, 2020—Lent 3
Canticle of Covenant Faithfulness (UMH 125); Exodus 17:1-7; Matthew 26:36-46
Sermon: Senses of Brokenness: The Vision of Salvation (Loneliness)
While Jesus prayed alone, he asked the disciples to keep watch. By so doing so, he wished to be both separated and united with them. Jesus’ time alone prepared him for fulfilling his vision of reconciliation. It prepared the disciples too for an important revelation: as they had witnessed Jesus’ Transfiguration, so Peter, James, and John will see the glory of Jesus’ resurrection. While praying, Jesus expressed sadness and despair at his impending death. The human Jesus was overwhelmed with loneliness as he saw the cross looming like a shadow over him. In the dramatic tension between his divine and human natures, Jesus took heart that God’s will was already being completed in him, giving Jesus high confidence. All this happened as three representative disciples drifted off to sleep, effectively abandoning Jesus, and causing him to face his suffering alone.