Lent Reflection, Day 29, April 3

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.
Mark 14:38

Additional Reading: Hebrews 2:14-18

He had a face. He had hands and feet. He had a back that very likely ached after he slept outdoors on rocky ground. He had a head that hurt when he went long periods of time without resting or eating. He squinted into the sun on bright days and huddled in his cloak on rainy days when the chill of the day went though him. He was as human as you or I.

Which means he knew what disappointment and frustration felt like. What it was like to be let down by friends. What it was like to be exposed to the withering criticism of life in a broken world.

Which is another way of saying that he was tempted like we so often are. Tempted to take matters into his own hands when he was opposed or threatened. Tempted to get even when he was marginalized or discounted. Tempted like we are by the daily, wearying aspects of life that so readily defeat us. Yet with him, he faced it all and did not give in – he did not sin.

There are times, I think, when we imagine that he must have had a “God Switch,” some kind of divine “Easy Button” that he could push when the pressure was on. I think we sometimes see Jesus as using his “Easy Button” to step outside his humanness into some superior mode of existence that is different from our condition of life. But he didn’t. Today’s Scriptures remind us that he was tempted just like us: same temptations, same intensity, same measure … without sin. He didn’t have a “God Switch.” He prayed … and somehow that made a difference.

So pray. Watch for temptations which are all around us and coming at us from all directions. But don’t forget to pray. Apparently, he thought it was crucial. With no “Easy Button” that I know of, apparently it’s our only hope.

Prayer: Father, this is me. This is my life and these are the moments I face and the temptations that are coming my way. Keep me, I pray. Strengthen me. Deliver me. I don’t have a “God Switch,” but I have what Jesus had – you and the power of your Spirit. Amen.