The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 321: Jesus' Prayer in the Garden (2024)
Sat, 16 Nov 2024
Fr. Mike highlights how Jesus didn't pray in order get something from God, he prayed in order to be close to God. He also points to Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane as a perfect example of how we should pray with honesty and trust. Lastly, Fr. Mike provides insights on the significance of the walk to Emmaus and Jesus' last words on the cross. The readings are Luke 22:39-24:53 and Proverbs 26:20-23. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.
Chapter 1: What is the mission of the Bible in a Year podcast?
Hey everyone, before we get started today, I want to let you know the Bible in a Year has brought the Word of God to so many people. As you know, you're part of this community, changing lives in so many incredible ways. We're humbled to play this role in God's plan and consider it our ongoing mission to keep bringing the Word of God to as many people as possible.
So what I'm saying is the end of this year is not going to be the end of Bible in a Year. So far, Ascension has been able to add the podcast to YouTube. You might have found it that way. Maybe you're watching right now on YouTube. And also, we're working on translating it into different languages so you could have the Bible in a year in other languages than English.
But of course, this takes a significant investment to bring projects like these, you know, free of cost to our listening communities. And we want to keep them free of cost to all those people who participate because we want to get the Word of God out there.
And because of that, we have to rely on generous contributions from listeners like you to help defray these costs and to enable us to continually provide new audiences with this life-changing content. So if you would like to help support the Bible in a Year mission, you can go to ascensionpress.com support. That's ascensionpress.com support.
Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension.
Using the Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 321. We're reading the last few words of Luke's gospel, but do not fret because... The Acts of the Apostles is also the extension of Luke's gospel.
Basically, we're reading Luke chapter 22, verses 39 through chapter 24, verse 50, the end of Luke's gospel. We're also reading Proverbs chapter 26, verses 20 through 23. As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension.
If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year. You can also subscribe to this podcast and receive daily updates and daily episodes. That's all I got for you today. It's day 321. We're reading Luke chapter 22, verse 39 through chapter 24, verse 50 and Proverbs chapter 26, verses 20 through 23.
The Gospel according to Luke, chapter 22, verse 39. Jesus prays on the Mount of Olives. And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives. And the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, Pray that you may not enter into temptation.
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Chapter 2: How does Jesus model prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane?
Peter followed at a distance, and when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. Then a maid, seeing him as he sat in the light and gazing at him, said, This man also was with him. But he denied it, saying, Woman, I do not know him. And a little later, someone else saw him and said, You also are one of them. But Peter said, Man, I am not.
And after an interval of about an hour, still another insisted, saying, Certainly this man also was with him, for he is a Galilean. But Peter said, Man, I do not know what you are saying. And immediately, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter.
And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly. The mocking and beating of Jesus. Now the men who were holding Jesus mocked him and beat him. They also blindfolded him and asked him, Prophesy, who is it that struck you? And they spoke many other words against him, reviling him.
Jesus before the council. When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes, and they led him away to their council. And they said, If you are the Christ, tell us. But he said to them, If I tell you, you will not believe. And if I ask you, you will not answer.
But from now on, the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God. And they all said, Are you the Son of God then? And he said to them, You say that I am. And they said, What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips. Chapter 23, Jesus before Pilate. Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate.
And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this man perverting our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar and saying that he himself is Christ a king. And Pilate asked him, Are you the king of the Jews? And he answered him, You have said so. And Pilate said to the chief priests and the multitudes, I find no crime in this man.
But they were urgent, saying, He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place. Jesus before Herod. When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time.
When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him.
Then clothing him in gorgeous apparel, he sent him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other. Jesus sentenced to death. Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people and said to them, You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people.
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Chapter 3: What does Jesus' prayer teach us about honesty and trust?
And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise. And they remembered his words.
And returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told this to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale and they did not believe them.
But Peter rose and ran to the tomb, stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves and he went home wondering at what had happened. The Walk to Emmaus That very day, two of them were going to a village named Emmaus about seven miles from Jerusalem and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.
While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk? And they stood still, looking sad.
Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days? And he said to them, what things?
And they said to him concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who is a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him. but we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since this happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us.
They were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body. And they came back saying that they'd even seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.
And he said to them, O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken, was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going.
He appeared to be going further, but they constrained him, saying, Stay with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent. So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him and he vanished out of their sight.
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Chapter 4: What are the key events leading to Jesus' crucifixion?
See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have. And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and wondered, he said to them, Have you anything here to eat? They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.
Then he said to them, These are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.
Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures and said to them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.
And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you, but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high. The book of Proverbs, chapter 26, verses 20 through 23. For lack of wood, the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels that go down into the inner parts of the body. Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel are smooth lips with an evil heart.
Father in heaven, we give you praise. Thank you so much.
Thank you for your Son. Thank you for the gift of your Spirit that you promised by your Son to the apostles and to your church, to us. We ask that you please, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, please send your Holy Spirit upon us now, this day. We pray for you, Lord. We pray for your Spirit to come upon us, and we pray for your name to be known upon this earth.
We pray for your will to be done in our lives and in this, your world. May your kingdom come, Father. May your kingdom come in our day, in this moment. May your kingdom come now and forever. In Jesus' name we pray. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Okay. Gosh. Oh, man. What a gift.
I mean, we just went through four Gospels, right, over the course of this last 300 plus days. This is... Here we are on the final gospel before we launch into the Acts of the Apostles and Romans tomorrow, the greatest letter of St. Paul, maybe one of the greatest works in the New Testament. But here we are at the end of Luke's gospel.
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Chapter 5: What happens during the crucifixion of Jesus?
And now today we picked up again in the middle of chapter 22. And one of the things we begin with is Jesus praying in the Mount of Olives. Luke reveals Jesus praying so often. It's one of the things that he reveals Jesus doing. I don't want to say more than anything else or more than anyone else, but it is very, very clear. that Luke is revealing a Jesus who prays regularly.
And this is fascinating to me because why do we pray? Maybe we've talked about this before, but I think a lot of us, we pray because we want an answer. We pray because we want strength. We pray because we want something. We pray because it's either God is Google or God is the ATM, right? We go to get stuff from him. He's Santa Claus kind of a situation.
But those are not reasons why Jesus would pray, because Jesus wouldn't need those things from the Father. What he would pray for is he'd pray to be close to the Father, right? He would pray because he wanted to be near the Father, because he wanted to have communion with the Father.
And that's one of the great reasons for us to pray, not just to ask God for stuff and not just to get answers or direction, although those are things we need, definitely, but to be close to the Father in heaven. And that's my invitation. Here we are, you know, on day 321. And as we get closer and closer to the last day of the Bible in a year, keep in mind that you can have a plan.
That plan being maybe I would start day one again. Maybe it's something else. But the idea is the plan is I'm going to keep praying because here is Jesus at the end of his life. Here's Jesus in the middle of his life. Here's Jesus at all times. And what is he doing? He is always praying. He's always going back to his Father. And here you are as a Christian. You know this.
As a Christian, you have access. You have access to the Father's heart at all times, in all places. And so the question is so often, like, why don't we... Take advantage of that access. Why don't we actually capitalize on the opportunity we have to come closer to the Father? And so, again, we have a few days left.
And depending on what your pace is like, if your pace is you're doing every single day right in a row, sometimes your pace is you do, you know, three episodes every two weeks, whatever that, whatever your pace is, just to know that you're on the right pace. What's your plan for prayer? Because it's so clear that Jesus is a prayer and he is God himself.
Here we are, who are very not God, very far from God, but he wants us to be close. And Jesus' prayer today in chapter 22 is what it's, I love this because I highlight this all of the time. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus' prayer is honest and it's trusting. He's honest. He tells God exactly, tells the Father, reveals to the Father exactly where he's at.
He says, Father, if you are willing, remove this chalice from me. That's the honest part. I don't want to do this. But the trusting part is nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. Even though his sweat became like great drops of blood falling upon the ground. Oh gosh. Another highlight that we can point to is the fact that here's Jesus when he's on the cross. What does he say?
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Chapter 6: What is the significance of the resurrection in Luke's gospel?
And then, truly I say to you, today you'll be with me in paradise, this word of hope. And then lastly, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit, this incredible word of trust, this word of faith where Jesus trusts his Father. And that's us too. And in all of our days, we can have our prayers be words of faith and hope and love. Last thing, we have a unique story in this gospel.
It's the story of the road to Emmaus. And the two people on the road to Emmaus, Cleopas, and it says his companion, and we don't get the name of his companion. I like to think it's Mrs. Cleopas. We know that someone who traveled along with Jesus and was one of the disciples was Mary, the wife of Cleopas. And so I assume maybe this is the same Cleopas.
And so maybe it's Cleopas and Mary, the wife of Cleopas, who are walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus. I've heard many people make this claim because... There's a sense of this being the undoing of Genesis chapter 2 and 3, where you have the husband and wife in Genesis 2 and 3 who have this fall, right? And they eat the fruit of the tree that leads them to death.
But here in Luke chapter 24, you have this husband and wife that eat what? They eat the fruit of the tree of life that leads them to eternal life, the Eucharist. Now, there's something really remarkable about this. I don't know if you know anything about Christmas trees, but they have bulbs, right? And the bulbs are what colors? They're typically green and red.
Now, this might be a stretch, but I believe this is accurate. that they'd have Christmas trees that would have bulbs of green and red on them. And they'd also would have little wafers. You'd make little sugar cookies and you put a hole in them and you hang those up on the tree as well. And what would that represent? That would represent that here's the tree that would have the fruit on it, right?
So apples, right? Apples are red and green. And so the green and red bulbs would be representative of the green and red apples of, say, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But then these sugar cookies that were circular hanging from the tree will be an image of the host, like the Eucharist.
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Chapter 7: What is the story of the Walk to Emmaus?
And the idea behind this is that here from the original tree in the Old Testament, in Genesis chapter three, you have this fruit of this tree that brings death to the world. But then from this tree, the tree of the cross, we get what? We get the Eucharist, which is the fruit that gives life to the whole world.
And so that's an incredible thing, I think, just to reflect on and realize that when we put these green and red bulbs on trees, okay, that's what represents the tree of life or the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But when we have the sugar cookies that are circular, that are placed on the tree, that represents the Eucharist, the fruit of the new tree from the cross. That's the new tree.
That's the new tree of life. The crucifix is the new tree of life. And the fruit of the crucifix is what? Is the body and blood of Jesus. the Eucharist. And that's what Cleopas and Mrs. Cleopas see, that sense of being able to say that their eyes were prevented from seeing Jesus, from recognizing Jesus, I mean, until what?
Until the breaking of the bread, which is code in early church for the Eucharist, which is code for Holy Communion. So what caused their blindness and their death in the Old Testament, Adam and Eve eating from the fruit of that tree, Here for Mary, wife of Cleopas and Cleopas, that husband and wife eating from the fruit of the tree of life, the cross, the Eucharist, their eyes are opened.
And not only just like Adam and Eve, their eyes are open and they realize their shame, their sin. Mary, wife of Cleopas and Cleopas, their eyes are opened and they recognize Jesus. Does that make sense? So it's kind of an ancient tradition in the church, but it's a small tea tradition that would be kind of the connection here.
The last thing I want to say is, it's incredible that he opens up the scriptures to them, not only to Cleopas and his companion, but also to the apostles at the end of this chapter. Why? Because he says in Moses and all the prophets and all the Psalms, all the places that talked about him.
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Chapter 8: How does the episode conclude?
And here you are, having gone through every single word you've read, other than Proverbs, because we're still on that slow drip on that one right now. But all of those prophets, all of those books of Moses, everything in the Old Testament you have already read. Imagine Jesus opening up your mind to understand every single piece in the Old Testament that referred to him. You know those stories.
And that's one of the reasons why maybe it's a really good idea. to have that plan. Maybe I'll go back. Maybe I'll go back and re-listen. Maybe I'll go back and read through. Maybe I'll go back because it's a never-ending. The scriptures here are a never-ending source of joy, of knowledge, of wisdom, and of faith, hope, and love. You guys, I'm praying for you. Please pray for me.
My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.