February 27: “The Spirit is Willing but the Flesh is Weak”
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♫ Music:
Day 11 - Saturday, February 27
Title: “THE SPIRIT IS WILLING BUT THE FLESH IS WEAK”
Scripture: Mark 14:32-42
They came to a place named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.” And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. And He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.” And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again He went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him. And 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. Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”
Poetry:
Descending Theology: The Garden
by Mary Karr
We know he was a man because, once doomed,
he begged for reprieve. See him
grieving on his rock under olive trees,
his companions asleep
on the hard ground around him
wrapped in old hides.
Not one stayed awake as he'd asked.
That went through him like a sword.
He wished with all his being to stay
but gave up
bargaining at the sky. He knew
it was all mercy anyhow,
unearned as breath. The Father couldn't intervene,
though that gaze was never
not rapt, a mantle around him. This
was our doing, our death.
The dark prince had poured the vial of poison
into the betrayer's ear,
and it was done. Around the oasis where Jesus wept,
the cracked earth radiated out for miles.
In the green center, Jesus prayed for the pardon
of Judas, who was approaching
with soldiers, glancing up—as Christ was—into
the punctured sky till his neck bones
ached. Here is his tear-riven face come
to press a kiss on his brother.
THE SPIRIT IS WILLING, BUT THE FLESH IS WEAK
Today’s painting by Italian artist Pietro Annigoni pulls the viewer in like a magnet. We focus first on Christ as he agonizes in prayer with the Father. (Today’s riveting poem graphically describes Jesus in this, his hour of greatest need.) The ministering angel dwarfs the Suffering Savior and where they meet in the center of the composition, there seems to be a burning radiance that sets the entire fresco ablaze with holy light. It almost hurts our eyes to look at this intimate scene, but at the same time, it’s impossible not to stare. It isn’t until we are consumed with Christ’s agony that we notice the three zonked-out disciples in the throes of deep sleep at the bottom of the artwork.
“Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation,” Christ challenges Peter, James, and John after he finds them asleep the first time. “Be vigilant” he seems to be saying like a night watchman who is anticipating an attack of the enemy at any moment OR “Wake up” with fully extended antennae ready to sound the alarm. In Luke 21:34 Christ warns his disciples, “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life, and that day will close in on you suddenly like a trap. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
This sounds like spiritual warfare to me. Why is it so hard to watch and pray and in contrast, so easy to give into temptation? Christ tells us the answer when he says, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Simon Peter’s life graphically illustrated this point. It seems his spirit was always raring to go. When Christ washed the disciples' feet Peter said, “Not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” When Jesus walked on water Peter asked, “Command me to come to you on the water.” And in the Garden of Gethsemane Peter insisted, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you.”
Like Peter, we initially have great intentions of following through but frequently we end up with mixed results. During the past year of lockdown, millions around the world automatically relied on their fleshly desires and needs to help them get through a twilight zone of nightmares. In times of deep stress and anxiety it is so easy to become self-absorbed and take our eyes off Jesus. It seems to be the case that often we cry out in desperation to the One who is always ready to rescue us only after we have tried to make things work ourselves. Singer/songwriter Rich Mullins wrote a riveting piece of music about this:
We are frail
We are fearfully and wonderfully made
Forged in the fires of human passion
Choking on the fumes of selfish rage
And with these our hells and our heavens
So few inches apart
We must be awfully small
And not as strong as we think we are.
We are not as strong as we think we are. To be consistently faithful we must do the hard work of watching and prayer. Safeguarding the comfortable lifestyle we have fashioned for ourselves can easily overshadow our ability to live a life completely devoted to Christ, sometimes without our even realizing it.
For far too long Christians have taken many of their cues from the world. Someone recently referred to the church in the West as “a cruise ship” where professionals meet all the needs of its passengers. In this unprecedented time of deception, the church must transform itself into “a battleship” where every person on board is alert and ready for an impending attack. Author Rod Dreher’s new book, Live Not by Lies: A Handbook for Christian Dissidents, warns about the new totalitarianism that is currently sweeping the world. In it he writes:
The old totalitarianism conquered societies through fear of pain; the new one will conquer primarily through manipulating people’s love of pleasure and fear of discomfort…admirers love being associated with Jesus, but when trouble comes, they either turn on him or in some way try to put distance between themselves and their Lord…The follower recognizes the cost of discipleship and is willing to pay it.
A time of painful testing, even persecution, is coming. Lukewarm or shallow Christians will not come through with their faith intact. Christians today must dig deep into the Bible and church tradition, and teach themselves how and why today’s post-Christian world, with its self-centeredness, its quest for happiness and rejection of sacred order and transcendent values, is a rival religion to authentic Christianity.
These days I often feel like a drowsy disciple or a virgin without any oil, sleepwalking through thick fog—trying to make sense of what’s happening around me. Yet, in moments of clarity I realize that now is the time to wake up and put my house in order. Hebrews 12: 1-2 admonishes us:
"Stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us, [looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith."
Prayer:
Lord, my hope is in you.
In all my weakness and frailty,
you intercede for me.
Help me to get to the place where I
consistently watch and pray,
with my eyes fixed on you.
Enable me to be faithful unto death.
Amen.
Barry Krammes
Professor Emeritus, Art Department
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Artwork:
Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (several views)
Pietro Annigoni and his students
1967–1988
Fresco
St. Michael the Archangel,
The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel
Ponte Buggianese, Tuscany, Italy
St. Michael the Archangel, The Shrine of Our Lady of Good Counsel, is a seventeenth-century church that underwent a complete restoration in 1957. When the renovation left bare walls in the interior, the parish priest, Don Egisto Cortesi, asked internationally renowned artist and official portraitist of the English royal family, Pietro Annigoni, to create a fresco. Aware of the spiritual value of the work and the church’s modest means, Annigoni accepted the assignment for a symbolic fee. After his first fresco, Annigoni and his students continued to work for free to decorate the other empty spaces of the church.
About the Artist:
Pietro Annigoni (1910–1988) was an Italian portrait and fresco painter best known for his portraits of Queen Elizabeth II. His work, painted in the Renaissance tradition, contrasted with the modernist style that prevailed during his time. Between 1945 and 1950, Annigoni produced a succession of important and very successful works. In 1947, he signed the Manifesto of Modern Realist Painters, which consisted of seven painters who openly opposed abstract art and the modern art movements that had sprung up in Italy. Following his portrait of the Queen, Annigoni became sought after and painted portraits of Pope John XXIII; US Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson; the Shah and Empress of Iran; Princess Margaret; and several other members of the British royal family. Annigoni was also active painting church frescoes in and around Florence. During 1980–1985 (starting at the age of seventy years), he completed his largest fresco, the dome of the Monte Cassino Monastery.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pietro_Annigoni
https://www.montecatinibenessere.it/arte-e-cultura/giornata-a-ponte-buggianese
http://www.cassino2000.com/wp/cultura/personaggi/pietro-annigoni/
About the Music #1:
"We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are" from the album Songs
Lyrics:
Well, it took the hand of God Almighty
To part the waters in the sea
But it only took one little lie
To separate you and me
Oh, we are not as strong
As we think we are
And they say that one day Joshua
He made the sun stand still in the sky
But I can't even keep
These thoughts of you from passing by
Oh, we are not as strong
As we think we are
We are frail
We are fearfully
And wonderfully made
Forged in the fires
Of human passion
Choking on the fumes
Of selfish rage
And with these our hells and our heavens
So few inches apart
We must be awfully small
And not as strong as we think we are
And the Master said that faith was
Gonna make them mountains move|
But me I tremble like a hill on a fault line
Just at the thought of how I lost You
Oh, we are not as strong
As we think we are
We are frail
We are fearfully
And wonderfully made
Forged in the fires
Of human passion
Choking on the fumes
Of selfish rage
And with these our hells and our heavens
So few inches apart
We must be awfully small
And not as strong as we think we are
And if you make me laugh
I know I could make you like me
'Cause when I laugh
I can be a lot of fun
Well, we can't do that
I know that it is frightening
What I don't know is
Why we can't hold on
We can't hold on
It took the hand of God Almighty
To part the waters in the sea
But it only took one little lie
To separate you and me
Oh, we are not as strong
As we think we are
When you love you walk on the water
Just don't stumble on the waves
We all want to go there somethin' awful
But to stand there it takes some grace
'Cause oh, we are not as strong
As we think we are
No, we are not as strong
As we think we are
Walk on the water
Walk on the water
If we could just hold on
Just hold on
About Music #2:
"Hold Me Jesus" from the album Songs
Lyrics:
Well sometimes my life just don't make sense at all
When the mountains look so big
And my faith just seems so small
So hold me Jesus 'cause I'm shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory
Won't You be my Prince of Peace
And I wake up in the night and feel the dark
It's so hot inside my soul
I swear there must be blisters on my heart
So hold me Jesus 'cause I'm shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory
Won't You be my Prince of Peace
Surrender don't come natural to me
I'd rather fight You for something I don't really want
Than to take what You give that I need
And I've beat my head against so many walls
Now I'm falling down I'm falling on my knees
And this Salvation Army band is playing this hymn
And Your grace rings out so deep
It makes my resistance seem so thin
I'm singing hold me Jesus 'cause I'm shaking like a leaf
You have been King of my glory
Won't You be my Prince of Peace
You have been King of my glory
Won't You be my Prince of Peace
About the Lyricist/Composer/Performer:
Rich Mullins (1955-1997) is both the songwriter and singer in this recording. He was a well-known contemporary Christian composer/performer remembered most for his worship song "Awesome God.” CCM Magazine ranks some of his recordings among the 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. Mullins' music influenced a whole generation of Christian musicians who came after him. He was a sensitive and prolific outsider artist whose unusual approaches in his walk with God, challenged traditional Evangelical status quo. "We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are" is in part a song of unrequited love but much more than that, it's a prayer that talks about our frailty and God's loving strength and patience. Mullins died in a tragic truck crash at the age of 41. James Bryant Smith who penned Mullins biography, "An Arrow Pointing to Heaven" writes, "Mullins challenges all to build upon his legacy of joy, compassion, brokenness, unblinking honesty, and wonder of an Awesome God." Mullins who never married, shrugged off fame, gave his money away and lived the last years of his life on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico where he taught music to children. In 2014 the powerful film Ragamuffin, based on the life of Rich Mullins, was released.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Mullins
http://kidbrothers.org/
About the Poet:
Mary Karr (b. 1955) is an American poet, essayist, and memoirist from Texas. She rose to fame in 1995 with the publication of her bestselling memoir The Liars’ Club. She is the Jesse Truesdell Peck Professor of English Literature at Syracuse University in Lima, New York. Her memoir The Liars’ Club, which delves vividly into her deeply troubled childhood, was followed by two additional memoirs, Cherry and Lit: A Memoir, which details her “...journey from blackbelt sinner and lifelong agnostic to unlikely Catholic.” Karr won the 1989 Whiting Award for her poetry, was a Guggenheim Fellow in poetry in 2005, and has won Pushcart Prizes for both her poetry and essays. Her poems have appeared in major literary magazines such as Poetry, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic Monthly.
https://www.marykarr.com/
About the Devotion Author:
Barry Krammes
Professor Emeritus, Art Department
Biola University
Artist and educator Barry Krammes (b. 1951) received his B.F.A. in printmaking and drawing from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and his M.F.A. in two-dimensional studies from University of Wisconsin, Madison. For thirty-five years, he was employed at Biola University in La Mirada, California, where he was the Art Chair for 15 years. Krammes is an assemblage artist whose work has been featured in both solo and group exhibitions, regionally and nationally. His work can be found in various private collections throughout the United States and Canada. He has taught assemblage seminars at Image Journal’s annual Glen Summer Workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Krammes has served as the Visual Arts Coordinator for the C.S. Lewis Summer Institute in Cambridge, England, and has been the Program Coordinator for both Biola University’s annual arts symposium and the Center for Christianity Culture and the Arts for several years. He has also been the editor of CIVA: Seen Journal for Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA), a national arts organization. For the last five years of his time at Biola, he was the planning coordinator for the CCCA. Krammes was the originator of the Advent and Lent Projects.