Reflections on Holy Week: Loneliness of Jesus

Among many other things, there was a loneliness that Jesus experienced during his final days before his death. This loneliness began before he was actually arrested and taken away from the apostles. This loneliness was experienced in the midst of the Last Supper, even when surrounded by his dearest friends.

Jesus knew what was to come, and although he talked about his impending death to his apostles, they did not fully understand. As the apostles prepare for Passover just like every other year, Jesus’ heart is set apart in these final days. His heart is lifted out of this world and into his eternal mission that lays ahead of him. His heart is carried outside of time, outside of space.

As everyone around him goes about life as normal, Jesus’ whole life seems to be standing still, awaiting the events that lay ahead. And while Jesus is not actually alone during the Last Supper, the Upper Room is filled with his closest friends, the interior loneliness he feels reigns in his heart. As the night progresses and Jesus prays in the Garden, he becomes more and more physically removed from his apostles, they find it hard to even stay awake and pray with him. Then after his arrest, they all run away. Although Peter follows somewhat closely behind, he only does so until he is confronted about being Jesus’ follower and the cock crows.

There are times when we’ve all probably experienced this type of loneliness, which wasn’t necessarily a result of being physically alone, but was more a result of being set apart, separated from the world in some way. I think of the times after having a baby or after a prolonged illness. These situations seem to pull us out of the fray of the world and into an alternate space and time. A time when priorities are shifted in order to care for the immediate situation at hand, whether that be a newborn infant that needs every bit of our attention or maybe our health that stops us in our tracks and focuses us intently in on a path to wellness.

For Jesus, there were people along the way of the cross who consoled him with their acts of charity or simply by their presence. His mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, St John, Simon of Cyrene, Veronica, and the women of Jerusalem all attend to Jesus in some way. These men and women console the heart of Jesus. They cannot take away his pain or sorrow. They can do nothing to lift his deep loneliness, but they choose to be present to Jesus anyway. They entered into his loneliness and went along the way if the cross with him.

On this Good Friday, may we choose to enter into this loneliness with Jesus. Let us pull away from the world that races around us and let it simply pass us by today. As we walk with Jesus along his passion and death today, may we seek to not be consoled ourselves, but to console Jesus by both our acts of charity and our intentional presence to him. The Prayer of St Francis comes to mind here and I invite you to pray this prayer today in light of the events of this Good Friday.