HOW COULD THEY?
It never fails. It happens to me every year. I find myself upset
with Jesus’ disciples. Maybe it happens to you, too.
You remember the story. Jesus and his disciples have just gone to
the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper. Jesus, obviously
troubled and overwhelmed with sorrow, asks the disciples to sit and
watch with him while he goes a bit farther away to pray. Such a
little thing to ask --- it should take no effort at all! But when
Jesus comes back, he finds the disciples asleep. Asleep! Talk about
lack of empathy. And to make matters worse, after he wakes them and
asks them once again to watch and pray with him, it happens again:
They’re sound asleep! Righteous indignation gets the best of me by
this time. The disciples have spent several years with Jesus, the
Light of the world. They haven’t gotten it yet. They don’t seem to
have a clue. Little do they know that in just three days, they will
witness the dawn of a new and glorious day. But for now, they’re
more interested in catching some zzzzz’s than in sharing Jesus’
sorrow.
Can you imagine? I would never do that. I’d be there for him. I’d
stay awake. I’d … I’d most likely do the same thing they did. Maybe
that’s why I get angry with them. It’s so much easier to do that
than to admit my own shortcomings. After all, I’m the guy whose
attention sometimes strays during the sermon, who sometimes skips a
daily devotion because it takes maybe five minutes out of my time,
who … well, you get the picture.
And it finally dawns on me: That’s what this night and the next
few days are all about! I can forgive the disciples’ lack of
attention and understanding and I can forgive myself when I show
those same human traits. Why? Because God forgave them and he
forgives me daily. It is because of Christ’s death and resurrection
that my shortcomings, my weaknesses, my many sins are all forgiven.
Come to think of it, now I can sleep soundly, too! (But maybe not
during the sermon)
Dear Lord, I wake up each day with good intentions, which too
soon go astray. Thank you for loving me so much that you forgive my
sins and shortcomings and accept me as I am, a forgiven child of
God. Amen
David Mueller
