Day 15: Garden Sleeping

3rd Friday in Lent

Scripture: Matthew 26:40-41

^{NRS 40} Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? ⁴¹ Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Devotional: Judas had left to betray Jesus. The disciples had received body and blood with clean feet, and it was time to walk off dinner on the way to Gethsemane. Jesus wanted them to watch and pray, but they almost slept through His arrest. Despite His rebukes, they couldn’t stay awake until it was time to flee. We sit a bit judgmental of the disciples on this side of history, but would we have been any different? Passover is a time of great celebration for the Jewish people when they remember the might acts of God in saving them from slavery and captivity. It is a shared meal with family, friends and neighbors to acknowledge the abundant provision of God in the Promised Land. It is almost exactly the same today as it was when Jesus and the disciples were in the Upper Room. We may best understand it as being like Thanksgiving, a holiday that is also about telling stories around the dinner table. True, they didn’t have football or belts to undo to make room for pumpkin pie, but they did have four courses of food that they ate while reclining. I require a post-meal nap at Thanksgiving and I can’t imagine they were much different. They had been celebrating. They were full and they were ready to sleep. They had no idea of the events about to take place. Sure Jesus asked them to watch, but would a nap be so bad? If Jesus asked us to watch and pray after Thanksgiving dinner, could we stay awake? Jesus taught that the flesh is a powerful enemy. John Wesley called the flesh the carnal nature. Saint Augustine called it Original Sin. All of them are teaching about the being of sin in each of us that causes us to do unexpected things. The disciples didn’t want to disappoint Jesus, but they couldn’t help it. They still lacked the one thing they needed to overcome the flesh. The Holy Spirit was still forty-three days away, but Jesus took the opportunity to teach them and us about the power of the flesh. Trials and temptations will come, but we can be prepared and overcome. We can pray and in the power of the Holy Spirit we can be victorious. Jesus wanted the disciples to be awake to witness God at work in their midst. The miracle of resurrection began with the arrest in the garden. He wants us to do the same. Can we live ready and awake so we can witness to and be a part of God at work in a dark and broken world?

Prayer: Lord, You see all things and know the hurts and despairs of all those around us. Today we pray that You will give us Your eyes so we may witness and be a part of Your transformation of this world rather than sleep in the Garden. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Song of praise:           Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath

                                              

Spiritual discipline challenge: Today our discipline is prayer, Jesus told Peter and the disciples, “Pray that you might not come into the time of trial.” Let that be our breath prayer for today as we constantly repeat the phrase under our breath, “Lord keep me from the time of trial.”