Mark 14:43-65; Sitting by the Fire

"There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire." That seems like a creepy statement to me. Peter went from being Jesus "right arm" to sitting with the enemy. While Jesus was being abused by guards, Peter was visiting with them. There was probably small talk about the weather or current events as they warmed up to the fire; Peter surely was trying to blend in by participating at a moderate level. Across the way, Jesus was anything but blending in; he was the central focus of every statement. Peter was looking out for Peter and noone else; Jesus was looking out for Peter and everyone else, even those abusing him.

It would be easy to condemn Peter and shake our self-righteous heads at him. Yet we do the same thing over and over again. We warm ourselves by the societal fires of popularity and comfort while Jesus calls us to step out. We engage in all the same activities as those who have never heard of Christ and try to blend in. We dress, talk and spend our money no differently than those sitting at the fire of selfishness and greed while Jesus walks the path of selflessness and generosity alone.

So how do you keep yourself from sitting at society's fires? Perhaps the only way is to not runaway in the garden. If Peter had not allowed distance to come between him and Jesus in the garden, then he would have stood with Jesus in the trial. It would have been painful but it would have also been shameless instead of shameful. So in the still of this morning I get to make the same decision as Peter, how closely will I stand with Jesus now in order to avoid compromising decisions later? Those moments sitting by the wrong fire are indicators of poor garden decisions.

Luke 22:39-46; Close but only physically

Luke has a short garden scene. He does not present Jesus going back and forth three times. Rather he presents Jesus as perhaps more direct. His points seems to focus more on the exhaustion, stress and anguish. He speaks to his disciples before and after but not during his prayer time.

I wonder how much the apostles had understood by this point? They were exhausted with sorrow according to Luke. Yet their responses later indicated a lack of preparation. They were unable to pick up on what was going on in Jesus' life.

How easy it is to be close in proximity to someone and yet not pick up on what is going on in their life. How easy to get a little idea of their feelings but miss the bigger picture. How easy to be focused on self to the degree that we can't focus on others.

Today I pray that I am able to see and feel what is going on around me in the lives of others. I pray that I will not be so full of me that I can't be filled with the needs of others. I pray that others will not be suffering in the garden while I sleep.