Watch and Pray
The sinful nature is like crab grass. If you don't kill it, it will take over completely.
What were these three disciples of Jesus supposed to say? The question was sharp; it had disappointment hanging all over it. Did they feel a little anger? “Hey, come on, get off my back!” They wouldn’t have talked that way to the Master. Did they think about excuses? I’m sure they did.
“Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” Jesus asked.
“Jesus, it’s midnight. We got up really early. We walked all the way from Bethany with you. We spent most of day running around to the market buying supplies for the Passover and getting everything ready in that upper room you helped us find. After you finally showed we sat up there for hours. And the whole night was absolutely filled with tension. You wanted to wash our feet, and it made us just sick to let you do it. And then you said one of us would betray you and all at once Judas left and we didn’t know what was going on. And you told us how sad you were and that this was the last meal you would eat with us, and that you were going to die and then there was this incredible thing about giving us your body and blood. We’re exhausted Jesus! We’re physically and emotionally worn out!” They may have thought all that, but they knew they couldn’t say it.
What were they supposed to do? Jesus told them. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” It was good advice, and it came from a man who knew them well. The connection that held them to Jesus wasn’t very tight. They were always on the brink of falling away. What were they supposed to do? They should have sat in the darkness with hands folded and minds alert, remembering all the words the Master had told them, every sermon he spoke, every prayer he prayed. They should have been on alert, ready for the horror and terror that was coming that night. That’s what they were supposed to do.
What are we supposed to do? You know. Jesus says: “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” There is a battle that rages inside of you and me, a battle between our faith--Jesus calls it “spirit”--and our flesh. Jesus controls our faith. The devil controls our flesh. Jesus says the spirit is willing. He means that faith is where all the good stuff is in our lives: trust in Jesus, love for Jesus. Everything that comes from faith in Jesus is good. Jesus says the flesh is weak. He means that the sinful nature in us is totally unable to do anything good. You can’t reform the sinful nature; you can’t recondition it. You can’t get rid of it either. The sinful nature that lives inside of us will keep pestering us until we die. And if we let it, it will absolutely bring us down. The sinful nature is like crab grass. If you don’t kill it, it will take over completely. It will push faith out. It will keep Jesus out. It will destroy everything you are and everything you have as a child of God. The flesh is weak, Jesus says. Understand what your sinful nature is like, Jesus says. That’s why we must watch and pray so that we will not fall into temptation.
So what are we supposed to do? Today is Ash Wednesday. Repentance is the theme. On the first day of Lent we need to confess our sins. We need to hear the Savior’s forgiveness. And we need to do the same thing tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that. When we confess our sins, we are saying to our sinful nature, “I know who you are. I know you cause me to sin. I know you would have me die in hell. You cannot fool me. I would destroy you, sinful nature. I would kill you if I could. I cannot do that here on earth. But I will not let you make me think that my sins are just okay.”
And when we say Amen at the end of the Absolution, when we say, I agree; I am forgiven, our faith leaps for joy and there springs from our hearts an overwhelming desire to love God and do his will. In fact, every time we confess our sins, we take ourselves back to our baptism, because baptism means that the sinful nature in us should be drowned by daily sorrow and repentance, and that all its evil deeds and desires be put to death. It also means that a new person should daily arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.
So now we begin the solemn days of Lent. From now until Easter we will consider questions of the Passion. But on this day let us be resolved to wake and watch with Jesus, not by waking with him in Gethsemane or watching as he prays, but by confessing our sins to him each day and each day hearing of his forgiveness. This is good Ash Wednesday practice. This is good practice for life.
PRAYER: Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you do not desire the death of sinners, but rather that they turn from their wickedness and live. We implore you to hear our cries for mercy, to forgive our sins, and to grant us the gift of your Holy Spirit, that we may amend our sinful lives and do those things that please you until at last we come to your eternal joy. Amen.