Yesterday was our last full day in Ein Kerem, the hill country that we have all come to call home. But as we near the end of our time in the Holy Land, we focus our attention to another hill and valley: the Mount of Olives and the Kidron Valley. We began to explore this area yesterday as we visited the places of Jesus’ Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Church of All Nations or also called the Church of Agony is built upon what is believed to be the rock where Jesus prayed to the Father. It was here that the Gospels show us a glimpse of Jesus’ full humanity as He cringes at the reality of the suffering and pain He will face. However, we also see Jesus’ full divinity, as He unites Himself in total faith and confidence in the Father’s saving will.
Jesus’ agony continues to be an example for us today because we are called to unite our sufferings to God’s redemptive will. For through Jesus’ Passion, all pain, suffering, and death proves to be utterly conquered and transformed into new ways of being united with God.