Luke 22:42 Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me.
Jesus fell to the ground. The weight of his impending death fully in his mind's eye. He did not want to die.
This is an image of a truly human response to a traumatic time ahead. Jesus knew of his demise. He wanted to live.
Jesus wanted to escape the pain of dying. In his prayer he calls upon God to take away this chalice. His agony can be felt through the waves of humanity. Would you be able to take on this call to die for sinners, past, present and future? This is the weight Jesus felt at this moment as he prayed to His Father.
If you have experienced your own child dying, you know the pain of watching a beloved part of you cling on to life, before finally accepting the moment of peace and calm that becomes acceptance.
Jesus knew that acceptance, when he continued his prayer yet not my will, but yours be done. Praying this prayer of release gave Jesus, as God, the full power of divinity. His acceptance allowed God to fulfill His plan of Salvation.
Jesus was not weak in his prayer, he was human. His human nature called on God to grant him His Strength as he knew that his human strength was not enough.
As we celebrate Holy Thursday let us remember the human Jesus. Let us watch and pray with Him as he struggles with his divine mission.
Jesus knows our heavy hearts, he understands our prayers for things to be taken away when the burden feels too much. Jesus has given us the prayer to say when we collapse and cry out. Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.
God heard the prayer and answered. He will do the same for you and me too. God is fully united in our lives, just as He was when Jesus was human.