Tonight we visited the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus who went there to pray with his disciples.
According to the gospel writer Luke, Jesus wrestled with the path that was set before him to such an extent that he sweated blood as he prayed for God to take this cup from him.
Leaving there, Jesus went, as he so often did, to the Mount Olives. The disciples followed him. When they arrived at the place, he said, “Pray that you don’t give in to temptation.”
He pulled away from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, “Father, remove this cup from me. But please, not what I want. What do you want?” At once an angel from heaven was at his side, strengthening him. He prayed on all the harder. Sweat, wrung from him like drops of blood, poured off his face.
He got up from prayer, went back to the disciples and found them asleep, drugged by grief. He said, “What business do you have sleeping? Get up. Pray so you won’t give in to temptation.”
The installation tonight was an ingenious contraption which had a print of Van Gogh's Olive Grove at its heart. This sat on a frame which was surrounded with tubes which constantly trickled drops of red wine down the face of the image.
This painting had particular resonance for the artist as it brought her to tears when she saw it in real life.
The whole installation sat outside the hut where it caught the light from a beautiful sunset.
