Holy Week
"Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Matthew 26:41
Isn’t it true that when we are bored or restless, we are at our weakest? It is strange. You would assume that the busiest, most stressful, most chaotic times, would be our weak point. Rather I have found that during times when not much at all is going is when it’s the easiest to, as Jesus says here, “enter into temptation”. Or, as is often said, “idol hands are the devil’s playground.”
Not much is written about the events that occurred on Wednesday of Holy Week. Thus, the title, “Silent Wednesday.” The next night, when Jesus was in the garden, His disciples struggled with the same thing. Not much going on. A lot was about to happen, but at the moment the only thing taking place was Jesus, about a stone’s throw away, deep in fervent prayer. When He returned to Peter, James, and John, they were fast asleep. His words to them are still important and prudent for us. "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
We too should watch and pray. When you let your “guard down”, as the phrase implies, you are the most vulnerable. What’s the solution? Watch and pray! Keep those spiritual eyes peeled! Perhaps there isn’t much going on that we can physically see. All the more reason to pray! Pray for the ability to resist apathy, which can lead to temptation. A lot can happen at any moment. We acknowledge that our flesh is indeed weak. So, put on the new man, that God given spirit, to stay alert, on guard, ready to fly to your Savior at a moment’s notice!
But while watching, also pray
To the Lord unceasing.
He will free thee, be thy stay,
Strength and faith increasing.
O Lord, bless, In distress
And let nothing swerve me
From the will to serve Thee.
The Lutheran Hymnal 446:5