Luke 22:39-46
39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
A brief sketch from Luke 22:39-46. This past week. I attended the 31st Theological Symposium of Concordia Seminary with the topic, "Whatever is Lovely." This conference covered the role of beauty in the Church. The sketch was done during a presentation by Dr. David Schmitt on the use of the art in Bible study as a reflective way to communicate emphases of a particular text. The immediate image that came to mind is one familiar to many churches whose images of Christ in the garden are (or are derived from) Heinrich Hoffman's
painting of Jesus serenely praying in the garden. While there may be value in what that painting is trying to communicate (perhaps Christ resolute in His mission) the text gives a picture of intensity of that moment of prayer. There are certainly more elements from the text that I could have added (such as the angel, the drops of blood, etc. But again, it's a brief sketch. Nor is it particularly unique). I sought to show a slightly different aspect to that familiar scene of Christ's prayer. Christ's mission to "seek and save the lost," is through suffering of His cross and it's not pretty to the human eye. However, Christ is no less beautiful. Christ's beauty is revealed in the depths of His love in his fervent prayer through agony, in his suffering, in his death on the cross. Christ be exalted! He has been raised. Alleluia!
