The Garden of Gethsemene

And Sweating Blood

Tonight, Jesus goes after Passover to a beautiful garden by a brooke where he often went to pray with his disciples.
There he is so intensely in preparation for what he knows is about to occur he sweats blood. Literally. Blood trickled down his forehead (and possible elsewhere.)

You make men twice the children of Hell that you are. This is what he loudly proclaimed to the highest religious authority of his day. Sooner or later they were going to get him. And he knew it.
Now we take lightly the word "hypocrite" which is synonymous with Pharisaic. Hypocrites flatly don't get into heaven, scripture tells us. Jesus knew that the highest religious leaders of his day were not going to make it to heaven. He wanted to save the people from them.

This point is somehow often lost on today's religious hierarchy who battle whether Jews or Romans killed him. The point is that he chose to die, he had power to lay his life down or not, to save the people from the religious leadership. Because they were all going to hell.

Who were at the foot of the cross? Women. Who came first to annoint him with oils at the Tomb. Women.

Who did he save from a pile on of men seeking to stone an adulteress? A woman. Who did he
let wash his feet (with her hair) a woman. There were possibly twelve men standing around- who washed his feet? A woman. Show me one 'footwashing' ceremony at a Mass where a Woman gets to wash the feet of the priest. It never happens.

There are certainly some of the religious hierarchy of our day who are going to hell. There are some who are worse hypocrites than the Pharisees and there are some as vindictive in their rage against the light.

Sweating blood. Why blood? Women bleed. Once a month for a week or more. Pouring out of their wombs. For the sins of eve? Women bleed. And so does Christ. To redeem us from Adam's sin.

Men don't get this connection as women do on as deep a visceral level I am convinced. Women bleed and drink the blood of Jesus to recover what was lost from Adam's sin.

Sweating blood. And pouring it out for the world.