This Lent we follow Jesus as he faces evil in the hours before his death. What is evil? Who is doing evil against Jesus during Passion Week? What are ways in which we are complicit in evil? Do we take evil seriously? As we experience evil in our own lives, discover how Jesus stands in the face of evil.
Invocation
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, who delivers us from all evil.
Invitation Prayer
Lord Jesus, you suffered evil at the hands of the religious establishment. Priests accused you of blasphemy. In their trial Lord, you know the power of the evil foe. You endured his temptation in the wilderness for 40 days. Answer our prayer to “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Keep us from the devil and his schemes. Guard us from the fiery arrows of satan. Grant us life by the power of our victorious King, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Word
Luke 22:46
“’Why are you sleeping?’ he asked them. ‘Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.’”
Meditation: Why Are You Sleeping by Susan Senechal
I can fall asleep in an instant. Seventeen seconds from pillow to snoring. I can fall asleep as a passenger in a car, even when we’re just going across town. In a movie theater, with dark lights and reclining seats, I am almost certain to sleep, even if I’m watching an action film or suspense thriller. I’ve even been known to nod off on a ride in a Disney theme park. So I’m more than a little offended to see sleep is one of the evils Jesus faces in the Garden of Gethsemane.
As Jesus goes deeper into the garden he leaves his disciples with the word, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation” (Luke 22:40). He has just spoken with them about being servants, about Satan’s desire to cause them to stumble and fall, about the trials he, and they, will soon face. And now he tells them to pray. The Gospels of Matthew and Mark give even more detail: three times Jesus left the disciples with the words to watch and pray, to watch with me, and three times he returns to find them asleep.
It’s not so much sleep that is the problem here, it’s lethargy when facing temptation, failure to be watchful and alert for the troubles to come. It’s the temptation to think we can find the strength within to deal with our problems, that we can handle what the world, or Satan, throws at us all by ourselves. It’s the allure of the voice within that overwhelms, that says “you can’t handle it,” or even worse, the voice that tempts you to think God can’t handle it. When Jesus returned to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. They had succumbed to the temptation that is very common to me as well.
Jesus, on the other hand, confronts this evil head on in the garden. Withdrawing from the others so he won’t hear voices trying to dissuade him, he humbles himself, kneels down and prays. He doesn’t ignore what he’s facing, try to pretend it’s not happening, or sleep as an escape. Instead, confronting those evils he says to the Father, “not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). And in doing so he receives strength for what is to come.
Doctors tell us that sleep strengthens, heals, restores. But how much more strength to face the temptations of the world when we turn to the Father and follow his will.
Father God, you hold the world in your hands. Help me to trust in you and follow you. Give me strength to face the challenges and temptations of the day, and restful, restorative sleep when my day is over. In Jesus name, Amen.
Sending
In the face of evil, may the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.