Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Companions on the Journey

Home
About
Contributors
Events
Publications
Websites
- CompanionsontheJourney.org
- SpiritsInSpacesuits.com
Archive Index
Contact

Home
New Visions
Evil 301: Gethsemane Revisited

Evil 301: Gethsemane Revisited

Last updated on: March 22, 2016 at 7:14 pm by Father Seán ÓLaoire, PhD

Evil 301: Gethsemane Revisited 2016-03-22T19:14:29-08:00 Father Seán ÓLaoire, PhD

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Introduction
I wrote this piece almost 37 years ago, as a young missionary priest working in East Africa. It is a creative encounter with Satan and Christ.

Christ in Gethsemane by Michael O’Brien

On the lips of bronzed old-timers back from the dust of the battle it had a tropical intriguing mystique; in books it sounded exhilarating – a heady, inspiring challenge to a young seminarian with a heart full of ideals and precious little experience. But now Lord that I have tasted it myself, I am aware only of the pain of it, the empty uncertain agony of being alone, lonely and celibate. Tomorrow Lord I will be 33 years old. By then you were ready to lay down your life. But tonight, Sunday night, I am still only 32.

I have been celebrating Mass and preaching from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on an empty belly. The nearest priest is 30 miles away and my heart is aching for someone to talk to. Only the flickering Sanctuary lamp indicates a presence who will listen. So listen Lord! Answer me honestly. I don’t want sweet words, I want the Truth.

Have you never felt the weakness and the vulnerability of yourself listlessly soaking away the energy of you? Have you never agonized on whether or not you can remain faithful forever to the vocation the Father has given you? FOREVER is a lot of days Lord. FOREVER is longer than History!

Have you never craved to gather in a manly embrace a living, throbbing, loving woman? If you haven’t Lord then we are completely different – and I don’t believe you ever became a man.

And when you spoke of RESURRECTION did you have some special knowledge or were you also operating, as I am, only on Faith?

The wind rattled the corrugated-iron roofing on the little church and then was still; the endless chirping of the crickets stopped suddenly and there was a loud pulsating silence. And HE was there in the middle of it and HE was speaking.

“Come with me into the Garden.
Over there lie Peter, John and James – sleeping.
Leave them be, I want YOU to watch with me.
Judas is in town making final arrangements.
And the Prince of this world is armed for the battle.
Now I want YOU to listen!”

He threw himself full-length upon the ground. It reminded me of an Ordination scene. And a great oppressive heaviness came upon him. I could feel it myself – the lonely searing agony of Temptation draining joy and life. There was a sinister chuckle and I was aware of the presence of the Tempter. He began to interrogate Jesus and this was their conversation:

“One more day Emmanuel
– correction: 20 more hours.
How does the Hero feel?
You’ll make a lovely corpse
– thorn-pricked, whip-lashed, nail- studded
and oh so very, very DEAD?
And for whom?

For Peter?
No! Not for Peter. Not for that garrulous buffoon
who’ll swear in his awful Galilean accent
that he never even heard of you.

For Judas perhaps?
Aha yes: ‘This corpse is dedicated in Love
to my good friend Judas the Iscariot.’
Yes indeed my son Judas.
Caught you all napping did Judas.
Yes, I’m proud of him.

Or perhaps it’s for John?
Aaahh, John is special to you.
Rosy-cheeked, beardless, innocent, little John.
He’ll remember you alright
– for a year or two anyway!
But TIME is a great healer.
Time is my greatest ally;
So time will cure John. He’ll go back to his boat.
He’ll get himself a nice comforting little wife
and later on he’ll tell his grandchildren
about a long-forgotten legend called:
Jesus-who-nearly-became-the-Messiah.

Come on man – think.
33 years old
and what have you done?”

Jesus groaned and in a very little voice replied,
almost to himself:
“I have healed the Blind, the Lame and the Leprous.
They at least will remember”.

The Tempter sat on a rock near the still prostrate form and sarcastically rejoined:
“Very good, excellent!
So you healed two or perhaps three hundred people
in a tiny corner of a despised country
at a microscopic moment of history.
Great!
What about the millions who are still blind
and lame and leprous?
Reflect oh gentle, sensitive, loving one
on the billions of people still to be born
who will curse their infirmities and heap vitriol
on the day of their birth.
No. Cut the crap!
Don’t tell me about healing;
tell me about a REAL accomplishment”

Jesus stammered: “I have brought joy and freedom
to Magdalene, Zaccheus, Levi and many others”.

The Tempter scoffed: “Magdalene is a fool
– a softhearted, easily swayed fool.
She loves passionately and forgets quickly.
Let me tell you what will become of your
precious little Magdalene of the dark seductive eyes.
She’ll fall in love with Judas!

‘Mr. and Mrs. Simon Iscariot announce the wedding
of their eldest son JUDAS
to Miss Mary Magdalene.
He for the second time, she for the first.
Reception to be held in the Upper Room.
Turbans and Evening Gowns, please.’

Won’t it be nice.
And – wait for it
– they’ll call their first-born son
JESUS!!

Sorry you’ll have to do better than that.
Come on you’re 33. You must have achieved something!”

Jesus was sobbing brokenly by now. Large beads of blood-tinged, salt-flavored sweat trickled into his eyes and the corners of his mouth. In a barely audible whisper he ventured:

“I raised the Widow’s son, the little girl of Jairus
and my friend Lazarus to Life”.

The Tempter clicked his tongue appreciatively:

“NOW THAT WAS DRAMATIC. I admit it!
Lazarus, stinking to high heaven,
shuffling cloth-coiled out of the cavern
to the delight of the voyeurs
and the swooning of the more sensitive souls.
Standing ghoulishly swathed in fetid bandages
and covered in flies and ants.
Swaying slightly in the sultry mid-day
as Martha,
with one hand on her nose,
unwrapped the putrid linen-strips.

No wonder the religious leaders wanted to kill you.
I have never in my life witnessed
a more disgusting spectacle.

And you realize of course
that I’ll catch up with them all again,
when you have gone through with your
thinly-disguised savior-scented suicide.

What about making it a Double Event?
Say, Martha and Lazarus to die on the same day?
Yes I like it!

‘Lazarus and Martha.
At their home in Bethany.
He for the second time; she for the first.
Deeply regretted by their loving sister, Mary.’

You did a great disservice there, I’m afraid.
Dying is bad enough but having to do it twice
– that’s heartless.

And speaking of Resurrection
– are you sure you’re going to rise yourself?
What guarantee have you got?
None my friend.
Except a stupidly childish belief in the Father.
The Father.
What the hell has the Father ever done for you up to now?
He has failed you – failed you miserably.
The Elders despise you, the Priests detest you
and the few who WERE willing to follow you
were turned off by the
‘My-Body-is-the-Bread-of-life’ crap.
Face up to it man: you’re a dead loss.
My advice is this – run from this city,
flee this country.

19 hours left now – it could be 19 years
or 59 years
if you do it my way.
Get up, GET UP off the bloody ground
and DO SOMETHING!!

Jesus struggled to his knees and hoarsely shouted:
“Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!! I can’t take anymore, I . . . .”

The Tempter shoved his face grotesquely to within an inch of Jesus’ sweat-streaked, straggly-bearded countenance and spat out the words:

“Stop it yourself for Christ’s sake!
YOU stop it!
YOU!!
You Head-in-the-clouds, blind buffoon!
You pitiable laughing-stock, you. . . .”

I jumped up and caught the Tempter by the shoulder and pulled him away. With all the venom I could command I roared:
“Begone Satan!
Begone you destroyer of mankind,
you Author of lies, of hatred and dissension.
Leave this dying savior to make his peace
with his Father!”

And he left, sneering at the sobbing form. Jesus lifted his eyes piteously to the twinkling stars and begged:

“Father, Father, why have you abandoned me?
Take this awful black uncertainty from me.
Let me KNOW again why I am to do
what I am to do.
Help me!
Abba please HELP me.
Explain it to me again
– please?”

I knelt at his side. He looked exhaustedly through tear-matted lashes and I knew that he needed an answer. I said:

“Lord it was good for me to be here.
Now I know that you are Real.
I have seen that you are a man,
like me.

Now Lord, I can try to follow you.”

Artwork used by permission, with thanks to Michael O’Brien.

Previous Post

March 15, 2016

To Love or Not to Love – Is That the Question?

Next Post

March 22, 2016 Evil 401: A Brief History of Sin

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category "All Lives Matter" "Anatomy of Human Destructiveness" "belonging systems" "bite-sized pieces of God" "Black Lives Matter" "block universe" "butterfly effect" "call to prayer" "counting to 10" "dog-whistle" language "I Am" statements "late term abortion" "lefties" "Nature Nazis" "Nephilim" "opium of the masses" "othering" "personal" God "personal/sensible" God "private" property "punctuated equilibria" "Silent Night" "Sky Gods" "Super Archetypes" "symbolic"experience "TaNaKh" "the difficult passages" "The Prophet" "the seamless garment approach' "virtualized" money "waking Life" 'creatio ex nihilo' 'dissipative structures' 'emanatio ab Deo' 'God the creator' 'God the Redeemer' 'God the Sanctifier' 'in potentia' 'The End Times' 1% abandonment Abortion abortion debate Abraham abstract rationality abundance Adam and Eve advanced beings/civilizations Advent adventure afterlife agape akasha Akashic record Alabaster jar Alan Watts alchemy aleinu alignment alive allegory altered states of consciousness alternate state of consciousness Alzheimer's disease America 2019 America 2020 America 2021 amnesia Anam Chara anatma (no soul) angels animasphere anitya (impermanence) Annuciation apathy apocalypse apophatic language apostles archetype art artists ASC - altered states of consciousness ascension asceticism ashram astral form astral travel astrology atheism Atman attention attention/observation autism avatar awake awakener awakening awareness awareness/imagination Axial Age Babel Baltimore catechism Baptism bardo state Bealtaine Beatitudes beauty behavioral psychology Being-Knowing-Loving belief systems beliefs Benediction Bernard Haisch Bethlehem Bhagavad Gita biblical literalism biblical revelation Big Bang biophilic biosphere birth canal birthright bite-size piece of God black holes blame Blessed Trinity bodhisattva bodhisattva vow body bonding Book of Job Book of Kells Book of Psalms Book of Revelation border wall Brahma Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva Brahman brain brotherhood/sisterhood Buddha Buddha nature Buddhahood Buddhas Buddhism burning bush Cain and Abel camán (hurley) cancer Canon Law canonical gospels Caol Áit caol áiteanna capital punishment capitalism Carl Jung cataphatic language Catherine of Siena Catholics causal void cause and effect cell mates Celtic Christianity Celtic Feast of Bealtaine Celtic spirituality Chalmers channel of healing chaos consciousness chaos theory charism children chreode Christ archetype Christ consciousness Christ/Christa consciousness Christa Consciousness Christian Christian cosmology Christian Trinity Christianity Christmas Christmas club ciotogs civilization classical conditioning climate change climate disruption co-create co-creating reality co-creative power and responsibility co-creative power of attention codependency cognitive flexibility coherence collaboration collective attention collective consciousness collective imagination collective intelligence/effort collective prayer collective unconscious collective/universal consciousness communication Communion of Saints community Companions on the Journey (COJ) compassion compassionate caregiver competition complacency complex/interdependent society Complexity/Chaos Theory complexity/entropy conceptual thought concurrency Confucius connectedness conscience conscious conscious evolution conscious observation conscious observer consciousness consciousness examen consciousness-primary cosmos consciousness-primary reality conservatism consumerism consumption continuous creation conversations conversion cooperation Coronavirus corrupt politics cosmic consciousness Cosmic Mind cosmic patterns cosmic whole cosmology cosmos Council of Constantinople Council of Nicaea countable infinity courage court prophets covenant Covid-19 creating creation creation by subtraction creative intelligence creativity creativity/paradox creator crucifixion culpability cultural identity cultural trance culture cynicism dark night of the soul Darwin daughter of Sion death debate and detachment deconstructionism deity déjá vu dementia demi-urge democracy democratization of Spirit Descartes desert fathers/mothers destiny detachment determinism devil's advocate Dia de Los Muertos dialogue dignity of all sentient beings direct experience disassociation disciple discovery disease disillusionment diversity divination divine brain Divine Feminine divine inspiration Divine Masculine Divine nature divine realm of perfection divinity DNA Donald Hoffman donkeys Down syndrome drama dream dream state dream time dreamers dreams dualism duality dysfunctional family earth Easter Eastern mystics ecology ecumenism ego ego identity ego-soul dialectic Einstein Einstein's "Block Universe" elementals Elijah Elohim eloquence EM field emergence emergent phenomenon emotional heart empathy en mesoi en-souled human person encounters end times endangered species enemies energy enlightenment entanglement entrainment entropy-complexity environmental degradation epigenetics epiphenomena epistemology equality/democracy equanimity equation of enlightenment Erich Fromm esoteric eternal eternal/mortal eternity etheric body ethics Eucharist Eucharistic Prayer of the Cosmos evaluation evil evolution evolution into enlightenment evolution of consciousness evolution of purpose evolution of society evolution of virtues evolution/devolution evolutionary inflection point evolutionary programming evolutionary shift evolutionary trajectory existence existential inflection point exit strategy experiential knowing experiential symbols extending rights/curtailing rights extra-terrestrial societies extra-terrestrials faery folk faith fake news families family Family of Man fate Father God fear Feast of All Souls feedback feminine face of God Ferdinand de Saussure fetus fifth dimension filioque fire flora and fauna Flora Spiritualis flow foreign policy forgiveness fractals fractals of divinity free will freedom friendship fundamentalism Gaia galaxy Gandhi Garden of Eden Garden of Gethsemane Gautama Siddhartha gemilut hasadim generosity Genesis geometry global crises Global Game Plan global narcissism global transformation global warming gnosis Gnostic intermediaries God God as Father God the Father God's Dream God's heart God's immanence God's will God-conscious Godhead gods Golgotha good and evil Good Samaritan goodness Gospel of John Gospel of Luke Gospel of Thomas grace gratitude greed Greek 'prosopon' ground of being guns habituation hate haves and have nots healing heart heaven Hebrew scriptures hell higher consciousness Hindu Hindu stages of human life Hindu trinity Hinduism Hippocrates Hitler holocene extinction Holocene/Anthropocene holy human Holy Spirit Holy Trinity Homo Narcississimus homo sapiens homo sapiens sapiens Homo Sociopathicus homo spiritualis hope hospitality Huang Po human agency human conditioning human evolution human flourishing (eudaimonia) human history human life human nature human nature/divine nature human needs human psyche human species humans as a social species humility hunger/yearning hypnagogic hypnopompic I AM idealism identity identity theft ideology idolatry illusion illusion of scarcity illusion of separation Ilya Prigogine image of God imaginal cells imagination immanence of God immanent aspect of God immanent experience impermanence improvisation impulse of spirit incarnation incarnational experience incarnational phase inclusivity individual subjectivity individuality indulgences industrial revolution Ineffable Source ineffable transcendence inequality inerrancy of the scriptures infallibility inferior mortal realm infinite inflation/deflation information revolution inner tranquility innocence inspiration instinct instinctual responses integration intellect intelligence intention intentional community interconnectedness interdimensional interpersonal relationships intuition Iománaíocht Ireland irrationality Isaiah Islam Issac Issac Newton Jacob Jacob's ladder of Genesis Jane Goodall Jansenism Jean-Paul Sartre Jeremiah Jesus Jesus as Divine Word John the apostle Joseph Campbell Joseph Cardinal Bernadin joy Judaism Judeo-Christian bible judgment justice Kahlil Gibran karma karma gobbler kindness Kingdom of God knowing knowledge and wisdom kosmic laws Kosmos Krishnamurti lack language Lao Tzu Latin "purgare" Latin 'persona' laughter Law of Impermanence Law of Love lay-away living learning legalism Lent letting go liberal/progressive liberation lies life life journey life purpose life-time commitment light likeness of God Lila limbo liminality lineage living systems living water logos longing love loving God loving without knowing lucid dreaming lucid living Ludwig Wittgenstein Luke and John Magi Mahavira mainstream media male/female faces of God manifest realm mantra Mariology Martin Buber Mary and Joseph Mary Magdalene Mary Oliver Mary the mother of Jesus mass media material world materialism materialistic science materialists mathematics matrix matter Maya mea culpa meaning of life media meditation Meister Eckhart meme memory message metanoia metaphor metaphysical universe metaphysics metaverse metta (Buddhism) Middle America Middle Way migrating Milesians military-industrial complex military-industrial demons Mind mind-body problem mindfulness mini-mystics miracles miraculous/mundane mission missionary mitzvah modularity moksha monasticism money Monoimus monotheism moral laws moral values morality morality/applied ethics morality/legality Moses Mother Earth Mother God mother-love motherhood Mount Shasta Mount Thabor multidimensional creatures multiverse music mystery mystic mystical body of Christ mystical impulse mystical poetry mystical self-empowerment mystical spirituality mystical union with Source mystical void mysticism mysticists mystics myth myth of the given mythic realm mythology naivete Namasté narcissism national security state nationalism Nativity natural disasters Natural Order Nature nautral selection NDE near death experience nebula necessity necrophilic neighbor Neils Bohr neural pathways neurotheology New Age philosophers New Age speak New Year resolutions newborn nirvana no-thing-ness Noah's Ark non-conceptual prayer noosphere nuclear nuclear weapons observer effect Old Testament oligarchy omniscience of God one-ness only-begotten ontology operant reinforcers oral language origin of laws Original Blessing original sin orthodoxy othering out-of-body experience overpopulation Pacha Mama pain pair-bonding Palm Sunday pandemic shutdown panspermia parable parallel lives parallel realities parallel universes parapsychological conduits pareidolia past-present-future Pater Noster Pavlov peace Peggy Lee Pena Creek Pentateuch Pentecost pepo perception perceptual state perfection persona personal cosmology personal enlightenment personal evolution personal responsibility personal transformation personality personhood personhood and ensoulment Peter and John Pharisees philosophy physical universe physical water physiosphere pilgrim Planet Earth planetary ascension Plato Plato's ideal realm pleasure principle Plotinus (d. 270 CE) Plutarch pneuma Pneuma Floriensis pneuma spiritualis pneumasphere poets politics post-incarnational phase power of love practice of prayer prana prayer prayer of petition Pre-Conception contract pre-incarnational phase predetermination prejudice priesthood priesthood of women primary reinforcement prime directive prison-industrial complex pro-choice pro-life profit propaganda prophets proverbs psyche psychodrama psychological conditioning psychological evolution psychology punctuated equilibrium pure awareness purgatory purpose pyramid of power Pythagoras Quakers Quakers "Sense of the Meeting" quantum field theory quantum foam quantum mechanics quantum physics quantum physics/mechanics quantum shift quarantined race radah radical love rainbow body raison d'etre Ram Dass Ramana Maharshi rationality/reason re-birth re-gifting intelligence re-incarnation re-incarnational phase re-magining reality reality gestalt reason recession reconciliation recycling reductionism reincarntion reintegration relationships relativism religion religionists religious systems remembering remembering/imagining renewal repetition resource wars response-ability Resurrection revelation revolution Richard Rohr Rig Veda rights/responsibilities Rilke ritual river of life Role-self root causes/social issues ruach Rumi Rupert Sheldrake sacrament sacraments sacrifice Sadducees Sai Baba saints salvation Samhain Samsara Sat-Chit-Ananda Satya Sai Baba scapegoat scarcity science science as revelation scientific fundamentalism scientific revolution scientism scientists Second Coming secondary reinforcement secular power secular/sacred secularization seeker seers Self self-acceptance self-alienation self-awareness self-compassion self-conscious life self-forgiveness self-identification self-identity self-interest/tribal interest self-liberation self-realization self-serving pathology self-understanding sense of self sense of separate self sensorium sentience separate self separation service to self/service to other sexual harrassment shadow shadow pod Shalom Shared Death Experience (SDE) sheep/shepherds Shiva Shiva energy Shroud of Turin signifiers silence simulated reality sin sin of separation sinner skin-encapsulated ego society socio-political division Socrates Son of Man Song of Amhergín soul soul group soul mates soul pod soul service Soul-self sound Source space-time special and general relativity spirit spiritual choices spiritual dis-integration spiritual DNA spiritual evolution spiritual garden spiritual healing spiritual heart spiritual heredity spiritual journey spiritual monoculture spiritual path spiritual power spiritual question/mystical question spiritual seeker spiritual water spirituality St. Augustine St. Francis St. Gregory of Palamas St. Ignatius of Loyola St. John of the Cross St. Patrick St. Paul St. Thomas Aquinas states of consciousness staying asleep staying awake Steven Pinker stillness stochastic terrorism Stockholm Syndrome stories story storytellers storytelling stream stress subconscious subjective consciousness subliminal perception submission suffering Sufi super-consciousness Supernatural Supernatural reality surrender survival survival of the fittest sustaining intelligence symbiosis symbols synchronicity taoism Tarot technology Teilhard de Chardin telepathy telos/teleology temptation tension terrorism the "Magnificat" the abortion process the Art of Dying the Bible the Big Other The Centering Prayer the cross the dead the Fall The Great Schism The Hero's Journey the human experiment the living The Lord's Prayer the Mother the Old Order the Other The Sign of Peace the Veil the World theology theory of entanglement Theory of Everything (TOE) theory of General Relativity Third Heaven "Shehaqim" thirst Thomas Aquinas thought patterns thoughts/tulpas Tikkun Olam time time travel time-space-mind tomb Tonglen Torah trans-lingual trans-rational trans-spatial trans-temporal transcendence transcendence of God transcendent aspect of God transcendent God transcendental experience transcendental realm transcendental/transpersonal Transcendentals Transfiguration transformation transpersonal Tree of Life Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil tribalism Trinity true Self trust truth truths tselem Tuatha Dé Danann tulpa ultimate reality Uncategorized unconditional love unconscious unconscious psychological modules uncountable infinity understanding unity Unity Consciousness universal basic income (UBI) universal consciousness universe universe as a living system universe itself as a living system Upanishads values Vatican II Veil of Veronica victimhood Virgin Mary virtues vision visionary experiences visions Vivekananda void of self-consciousness waking consciousness Watson and Crick wave-particle duality wealth wealth and privilege wealth gap Wilder Penfield will to survive William James wisdom witnessing consciousness women's spiritual group Word Word-of-God-Made-Flesh world view wu-wei Yahweh yin and yang Yogananda Zen Zen buddhist monk zero-sum game Zoroaster

Select a Month June 2024 May 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 April 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 June 2022 December 2021 November 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz