Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak

 Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:

'I will strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep will be scattered.'

"But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."  Peter said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be."  Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  But he spoke more vehemently, "If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  And they all said likewise.

Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray."  And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch."  He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.  And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.  Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will."  Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping?  Could you not watch one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words.  And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.  Then He came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  It is enough!  The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."

- Mark 14:27-42

Yesterday we read that on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, "Where do You want us to go and prepare, that You may eat the Passover?"  And He sent out two of His disciples and said to them, "Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him.  Wherever he goes in, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?" '  Then he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared; there make ready for us."  So His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it just as He had said to them; and they prepared the Passover.  In the evening He came with the twelve.  Now as they sat and ate, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you who eats with Me will betray Me."  And they began to be sorrowful, and to say to Him one by one, "Is it I?"  And another said, "Is it I?"  He answered and said to them, "It is one of the twelve, who dips with Me in the dish.  The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!  It would have been good for that man if he had never been born."  And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."  Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.  And He said to them, "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.  Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."  And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

 Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:  'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.'  But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee."  Peter said to Him, "Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be."  Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times."  But he spoke more vehemently, "If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"  And they all said likewise.  Jesus quotes from Zechariah 13:7, which reads in full, "'Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the Man who is My Companion,' says the Lord of hosts.  'Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; then I will turn My hand against the little ones.'"  The text explicitly gives us the sworn statements of Peter and the others, giving us all a warning that we may easily overestimate our natural capacities for strength.   Our reliance on Christ comes for a reason and a purpose; there is wisdom far beyond ourselves which we need to cope with temptations we don't necessarily fully understand.

Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray."  And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed.  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Stay here and watch."  He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.   Gethsemane means "oil press.  It is an orchard of olive trees at the foot of the Mount of Olives.  Jesus and the disciples stay on the Mount of Olives as is traditional for pilgrims to Jerusalem for the Passover; here in Gethsemane, Jesus begins His vigil of prayer, taking His closest inner circle of Peter, James, and John.  These three were with Him for the Transfiguration, and also for difficult healings requiring great faith, such as that of Jairus' daughter.  We note that Jesus prays to God the Father that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him.  He sets an example for us all in times of depth of trouble.  He is aware of what is happening and the betrayal of Judas; His human soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.  Let us note that Jesus is not hiding from what is happening; John's Gospel tells us that Judas also knew this place, for Jesus often met there with His disciples (John 18:2).

And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.  Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will."  Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you sleeping?  Could you not watch one hour?  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words.  And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him.  Then He came the third time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and resting?  It is enough!  The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners.  Rise, let us be going.  See, My betrayer is at hand."  Abba in Aramaic (the common spoken language of Christ's time) is the familiar form for Father, such as the English word "Papa."  It speaks of Christ's deep closeness and intimacy with God the Father.  It is also a word that indicates trust; all things rest for Jesus within that trust, which is the very definition of faith.  My study bible comments that as a man, Christ wishes He could avoid this cup, His impending death.  It notes that it is a mark of humanity to abhor death.  He gives abundant proof here of His human nature.  But He is also without sin, and completely gives His human will to the Father's divine will.  We contrast the strength of Christ in prayer with the weak flesh of the disciples, whom Luke tells us are sleeping for sorrow (Luke 22:45).

We contrast the sleeping disciples with Christ's earnest depth of prayer in the Garden.  He is absolutely aware of what is happening, and while He has warned and told the disciples what is about to happen, they are simply overwhelmed.  Jesus says, "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  We are given the example of Jesus' prayer for all of our own circumstances, in which what seems inevitably sad or disastrous or terrible is impending upon us.  He puts His trust in the Father and the Father's will, which has guided His entire ministry.   He takes refuge in prayer, and in petitioning to the Father in His intimate, close, and trusting way.  By contrast we have the disciples, who perhaps are given over to sorrow too overwhelming and bewildering for them to fathom.  Although Jesus encourages them, also, to pray -- in order to avoid the temptation He knows is coming -- they sleep.  But here is a good lesson for each of us.  Christ's "remedy" is prayer.  Even if He has to drink this "cup" that He does not want to swallow, He will do so through the strength and love that God gives Him, and trust that God's purposes are at work through all things.  He knows what temptations the hostility and violence and evil of this time will bring to His disciples, and it is for this purpose of resisting temptation that He encourages them not to sleep but to pray.  There are those who say that at a time of death, in a family or any other group setting, we learn what is the best of us and the worst of us.  That is, a time of death seems to bring out all temptation and test each one of us.  Whatever the circumstances, Jesus still is teaching the disciples how they are to go about handling the events that will transpire within their lifetimes, even through all things.  He teaches them, and us, about the importance of prayer.   He sets the example Himself.  The disciples -- with Peter being the supreme example, but each one, we're told has followed -- have sworn they would never desert nor betray Christ.  But they aren't really prepared for the powerful forces that will be at work in the events of the Passion.  These aren't simply the forces of the state and the religious leaders, but also, as St. Paul tells us, "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).  Christ has come into the world as Savior for all of us, each of us, but this necessarily also entails a spiritual battle we don't necessarily see.  The forces that we know and understand may also mask spiritual forces that are at work that we don't see and know and understand, things that work within us upon our weaknesses and most vulnerable places -- of which we might not be aware either.  This is why prayer remains so important, why Christ exhorts the disciples to pray especially at this time.  We always have a number of forces that are work within us, whether that be our own psychology, our human weaknesses connected to the "flesh" and our natural impulses, or spiritual factors we don't always understand.  In so many ways, we don't fully know ourselves, as St. Peter will demonstrate in his own betrayal of Christ, and it is foolish to think even that we fully know ourselves and our own capacities and weaknesses.  St. Paul also confesses, "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do" (Romans 7:15).  Let us consider then the gift of prayer in the light of today's reading, and our dependency upon God for strength, guidance, and help through all things.  Jesus goes to His Passion, but with a clear understanding of His life, His purpose, and the love of God the Father, "Abba."  Let us likewise cultivate the personal intimacy of prayer, for our own strengths and help with our weaknesses.   As with Jesus, the times of great crisis can bring out the greatest heroism but also the worst betrayals.  Let us find refuge in Him and in the prayer He teaches us.  Jesus says to Peter, James, and John:  "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.  The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."  Let us note how close these same words are to the ones He gives to us all for the entire age and times of tribulation (in this reading), and follow as He teaches.