“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow”
If I returned here, barefoot and silent,
would the ground still carry the prayer,
“Not my will, but yours”?
We’ve been walking through Holy Week with Matthew’s Gospel, listening to his telling of the story. Matthew doesn’t include the moment where Jesus washes his disciples’ feet—that comes from John.
But before Jesus prays in the garden, before the betrayal begins, John tells us something else happened around that table. Jesus knelt, took water, and washed the dust from the feet of his friends. The same feet that would later flee.
Matthew leads us into Gethsemane. But John reminds us what came just before: a quiet act of service and love. The two accounts sit side by side—not in contradiction, but in depth. Together, they show us Jesus: the one who serves, the one who prays, the one who stays.
The garden is quiet, but heavy. The ground is cool. Olive trees rise like watchful witnesses. Moonlight sharpens the edges of the night. Jesus falls to the ground and prays.
He asks for another way.
Still, he chooses to stay.
Here, his feet remain still as swords approach.
Peter’s feet rush forward—rebuked.
Judas steps close.
Soldiers break the silence.
And we bring our own feet—uncertain, tired, longing to do the right thing but not always sure how.
What will we carry into this ground?
And what will we choose to leave behind?
Art Journaling Exercise: Feet on sacred ground.
On the night he was betrayed, Jesus knelt and washed the feet of his disciples. He touched their weariness, their wandering, their betrayal. He levelled himself and commanded them to do the same.
This is a simple act of service and care - no speaking needed. Just presence, gentleness, and the quiet work of love.
What you will need:
A bowl of warm water, a soft cloth or towel, a piece of paper and a pen or pencil and an envelope.
Wash the feet of a loved one. Ask someone you love - family, friend, partner, child - if you may wash their feet.
Do it slowly, with care, in silence.
Place one of their feet on the paper and carefully trace around it.
Take your outline somewhere quiet and recite the lords prayer.
Draw a garden in the foot, you can colour it, collage, add prayer, words of love, wishes for that persons journey, hopes for them, words of forgiveness, requests for grace…
Fold it carefully into the envelope and tuck it into your bible at John 13 - stick it in if you wish.
Study Questions:
Why does the Gospel of Matthew not include the washing of the feet? (see John 13:1-17)
Jesus invites the disciples to “watch and pray”, but they fall asleep. Why do you think staying awake was so hard for them? What things are we sleeping through today?
Jesus chooses not to resist arrest, what kind of strength does that take? Have you ever seen someone show that kind of quiet strength?
Journal Notes:
“Gethsemane” means “oil press.” It was likely an olive grove on the Mount of Olives, just east of Jerusalem. The name itself carries a sense of crushing—fitting for Jesus’ inner agony.
It was common to pray aloud, often physically prostrate. Jesus’ repeated prayers reflect traditional Jewish lament and pleading (see the Psalms), not weakness, but reverent desperation.
In Jewish culture, a kiss between a disciple and rabbi was a respectful greeting. For Judas to use this gesture to identify Jesus to his captors added a layer of bitter irony.
“A great multitude with swords and clubs”: This likely included Temple guards rather than Roman soldiers, using force that implied they expected armed resistance.
