Fr Peter Ireorji, MSP - Homily Good Friday, April 19, 2019

Jesus was tense, Jesus was anxious; Jesus was worried like any one of us might be. Because he knew what awaits Him, not because he can tell the future but because he has stood up for the truth no matter the consequences. And yet there was that anxiety. And the first thing Jesus did to get rid of the anxiety was, not to take a pill, but to go to pray - to pray to his Father. The prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane provides for us a lesson on prayer, and the first step was the attitude, the disposition. We are told that as soon as Jesus reached Gethsemane after telling his disciples to watch with him, he threw himself on the ground. The throwing himself on the ground conveys an attitude of total surrender to God. He wants God to take control; to take charge and to direct the events of his life. The words that he used were simple, direct, and are to the point. It was a prayer from the heart. “Father take this cup away from me”, and yet because the Father’s will was primary for Jesus, Jesus added “Not my will but Yours be done”. And this is the challenge of prayer. The prayer of Jesus was never unanswered, because the prayer of Jesus was always a prayer that lets the Father do His will. Is our prayer the prayer like that of Jesus or do we stop with give me, give me. Can we link and identify our prayer with the prayer of Jesus? Even though Jesus received no support from his companions because they were asleep, he got up strengthened in his prayer as was evident from the fact that he made no move to stop the fight in the garden, to respond to Judas, he only said “let the Scriptures be fulfilled”. In other words, let God’s will be done, and if it is the Father’s will that he dies, so be it. Are you submissive to the Father’ will? Shalom!