“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak.”
Matthew 26:41
After the Last Supper and farewell discourse were complete, Jesus and His Disciples walked to the Garden of Gethsemane. This was a place Jesus would frequently go. He knew that His Passion was about to begin. He knew that hours of suffering were in His immediate future. Everything else He had to do was done and there was now nothing else in front of Him other than excruciating pain. His response was very human. He was nervous. He was scared. And His recourse at all times, just as our should be, was to pray. He asked Peter, James and John (the inner circle of His Disciples) to go with Him while He went to pray. He asked the other disciples to remain where they were, but that only He and the three would go farther.
When they got to the place where He wanted to pray, He told the three disciples to sit and watch while He went a little farther to pray. All He asked them to do was watch. He didn’t ask them to pray for Him, while He listened to them. He didn’t ask them to pray with Him, where He would pray and they would participate. He asked only for their presence. As an aside, a ministry of presence is a very important thing we are all capable of offering. Many times, we know people who are having a hard time. Maybe they are sick in the hospital. Maybe they just lost a loved one. Maybe they received some bad news. And what people want most at times like this is not advice or counsel, but just presence. They don’t want to be alone. They don’t want to feel like they are alone. Being present for someone is often just what they need. Sometimes being present and silent is more important than offering advice. Sometimes we might even say the wrong thing.
Jesus was asking the disciples just to be present with Him, to let Him know that He was not alone at that moment. He went and prayed and poured out His soul to God. He asked the Father, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:39) In Luke’s Gospel, the Evangelist describes the agony the Jesus felt while He was praying. He writes and being in an agony, He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground.(Luke 22:44)
Jesus got up from His prayer and went back to where His three most trusted friends were, and found them sleeping. He asked Peter, “So, could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:40-41) How did this come about? That Jesus’ disciples fell asleep? Perhaps they were tired, or bored, or couldn’t focus. And they just fell asleep. It is possible, though unlikely, that they conspired and said “This is dumb. Let’s just fall asleep on our friend.” And Jesus realized and told them, “I know your spirits are willing, I know you love Me, but your flesh is weak.”
When we sin, we often are like the disciples. We might be loyal followers, but we have shortcomings when it comes to faith. Maybe we are tired, or bored, or distracted, or undisciplined, but for some reason, we keep falling into sin. I suppose there are moments when we all might “conspire” to commit a sin, or rationalize that whatever sinful thing we are doing isn’t very sinful. Many sins are actually committed despite our best intentions.
Many sins fall into a certain pattern, it’s like we are addicted to certain kinds of sin. I am attracted to overeating ice cream. Others drink too much alcohol. Others can’t stop looking at pornography. When we are insecure, we tend to gossip more. When our expectations, either for ourselves or for others, are not fulfilled, we tend to get angry. There are many sins that I never do, or even think of doing. There are some sins that I do often. Most of my sins are centered around themes that are circumstantial to my life. Most of us recognize sin when we do it, and we feel guilty after we commit sin. To sin and not feel guilty is another kind of problem. But most of us have a conscience when it comes to sin. Sin makes it hard for us to love God, but it also makes us self-loathe, it makes it hard to love ourselves. And then when we feel hurt, we tend to lash out and hurt others, and we get caught in a vicious cycle of sin and saying “well, I’ve already sinned, might as well sin some more.” Again, most of our sins fall into themes that are unique for our lives.
What sins and temptations cause you to fall short when it comes to loving God? Are there specific themes? Often the actual sin we are committing has a root that is very different. For instance, a person may be angry every morning driving to work because they hate their job. The root cause of the anger is job dissatisfaction. If the person changes job, the angry drive stops. Most of our sins are habitual, like gossiping or overindulging. So the sin is corrected by a change in habit. Confession is an important part of being an Orthodox Christian, and we will talk about that in the next reflection. However, before one can go to confession, he or she should examine their own conscience and life, and think about not just their sins, but sinful patterns and root causes to sin.
I’d like to think that there aren’t many people who get up in the morning and say “I intend to sin today.” This is in line with what Jesus said to the disciples, that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Lord, thank You for the gift of this day. As I awake today, I pray that You give me a willing spirit, a spirit that wants to glorify You today. Help me focus on a willing spirit and for my flesh to be strong as well. Help me to reflect on the root causes of my sin, to work on repairing roots so that the spiritual fruit I produce is not sinful but rather glorifies You. Give me the strength to watch You Lord, to “watch” how You lived, and may I desire to live in the same way. Amen.
What sins and temptations are causing you to fall short when it comes to loving God?
