Never Out of Sight

This trip has been exhilarating and exhausting, uplifting and sobering.  Sometimes all of this happens in a single moment.  Take our visit to the Garden of Gethsemane for example.  When the bus pulled up, I got out and looked up.  The first thing I saw was the Eastern Gate on the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock.

You'll forgive the geography lesson, but it is critical to our understanding of this moment.  The Garden is almost at the bottom of the Kidron Valley.  Until I got here, I didn't think much of the hills mentioned in the Bible.  But these are no ordinary hills.  They are steep...really steep.  So when I say I looked up, I mean I looked UP.  Gethsemane is just at the bottom of the other hillside, literally in the shadow of the Temple Mount.

The Garden is essentially an Olive Tree grove with lots of flowers planted throughout.  Some of these trees are said to be over 2000 years old, and they still produce olives.  Their trunks are twisted and gnarled.  And they have silently stood watch over the Garden since the time of Christ.  If they had eyes to see and mouths to tell the story, I wonder what it would be like.  Would they say, "Peter slept at the base of my trunk and James and John over there."  Or maybe one would chime in and say that it could hear Jesus' prayer that night.  

Back to geography.  As I walked through Gethsemane reflecting on what Jesus was going through when he last was here, I found myself looking up to the Temple Mount.  Then it dawned on me that no matter where I was in the Garden, I could still see where the Temple was.  The Temple was where God resided in the Holy of Holies.  And then came the moment.  Passing by one of my ancient Olive Tree friends I realized that Jesus could see the Father...and just as important, the Father could see Jesus.  

I had always thought that Jesus went through the Garden experience alone.  That he spent that night praying, "Not my will but thine be done..." separated from his friends, his family, his God. But that is not true.  You see, Gethsemane is literally shouting distance from the Temple.  The whole time, God was there with Christ in the Garden.  The whole time, God was speaking with him, ministering to him, supporting him, listening to him, loving him.  God never left Jesus, He heard every word, saw every tear, felt every drop of sweat and blood.  Jesus was not alone.

Ever have those times when it felt as though your prayers evaporated right before your eyes?  That they didn't have the power to rise above the rooftop let alone make it to heaven?  Ever felt like God was so far away that He couldn't see you or hear you when you are going through your most difficult trials?  Don't believe it.  When we come to God with our prayers, even when it feels like they are barren and surely won't be heard, remember this:

God is never out of sight.

John