Meditationen am Gnadenstuhl: Monday of Judica (Lent V)
Monday of Judica (Lent V)
Daily Lectionary Readings: Exodus 2:1-22; Mark 14:32-52; (Sirach 27)
Mark 14:32–42 [32] And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” [33] And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. [34] And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” [35] And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. [36] And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” [37] And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? [38] Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” [39] And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. [40] And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. [41] And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. [42] Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.”
Jesus said, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” This should bring to mind the sixth petition of the Lord’s prayer, “Lead us not into temptation.” As the catechism teaches us: “What does this mean? God, indeed, tempts no one; but we pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us, nor seduce us into misbelief, despair, and other great shame and vice; and though we be assailed by them, that still we may finally overcome and gain the victory.”
We are tempted by the world. That much is obvious to us. It seems as though the world’s mission is to assimilate all people into a godless mass living only for the day and instant gratification. We try to resist, and we often fail.
We are tempted by the devil. As we heard in Sunday's Gospel, he was a liar and a murderer from the beginning. Yet his tender whispers tell us there is no harm in following the world or our own desires. As usual, he speaks half-truths. God created us and this world for us to be pleasing to him and of service to one another, so the world ain't all bad. But since sin entered and broke creation, not everything is good or wise, either. It's complicated. It requires discernment and the study of God's Word to be able to separate the good from the bad.
The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak because it, too, is corrupted by sin such that our human reason tends toward the easy, sinful side of the spectrum. We know what we are supposed to do, what we are supposed to want, and how we are supposed to behave. Our "heart is in the right place." But our flesh betrays us.
This doesn't give us an excuse. Just as we can never honestly say, "the devil made me do it," we cannot say we are the way we are because that is the way God made me, or the world is the way the world is because God made it that way. God made us in His image to be holy, and to love Him, be loved by Him, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We have a sin problem.
It is human nature to try to fix everything ourselves, but the sin problem is above our pay grade. God knew this and sent His Son into the world to remove the sin problem from the equation. In the world to come, it will not exist. But sin is still very much a part of our world and our lives.
Yet by the death and resurrection of Jesus, the penalty for your sin has been paid for. Reborn by water and the Word, you are a new creation with the assurance of that sinless life to come. The knowledge of this by the Holy Spirit incites you to do good works for the benefit of your neighbor. However, you are still here, and you are still a sinner. Knowing all of this, your conscience is burdened even more than it was before! What to do?
“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” You don't go it alone. You can't do it alone. So you pray. Repent for the sins you do. Ask not to give in to the temptation to sin the sins your flesh wants to do, but your spirit knows is wrong. And repent when you fail. The blood of Christ covers all your sins. The spirit is willing, and the flesh is weak; the saint/sinner in each of us is in constant battle. But know this - the war is won. The devil lost. Christ is the victor over sin, death, and the devil's power. And He won it for you.