Courage

“Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane” by Giacinto Brandi (c. 1650), Pinacoteca Vaticana, Source Web Gallery of Art (PD-Art, Old-100)

“And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22: 44).

Lawyers are frequently characterized as brazen or worse by the public.  Since they are regularly required to face fear, most lawyers have considered the nature of courage.  Some would describe courage as an internal state, i.e. the absence of fear.  Others would describe courage as action despite fear.

CS Lewis wrote in “Letters” on this topic:

“God could, had He pleased, have been incarnate in a man of iron nerves, the Stoic sort who lets no sigh escape him…He chose to incarnate in a man of delicate sensibilities who wept at the grave of Lazarus and sweated blood in Gethsemane. Otherwise we should have missed…the all important help of knowing that He has faced all that the weakest of us face, has shared not only the strength of our nature but every weakness of it except sin. If He had been incarnate in a man of immense natural courage, that would have been for many of us almost the same as His not being incarnate at all.”

Lord Jesus, You overcame the world for our sakes.  Yet You sweated blood at the Garden of Gethsemane contemplating Your suffering on the cross.

With You beside us, whom should we fear?  Grant us the courage to speak up for what we know to be right – whatever the odds, whatever the consequences.

Amen

READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse  https://avoicereclaimed.com