Lent 4 + Midweek

Text: Psalm 77

We’ve all been there, filled with emotion, grief, and sorrow that keeps us from sleeping. The insomnia is unbearable, like in the Psalms of Lament before; you can relate with the Psalmist as you watch the neon lights of the alarm clock tick by… You just want to sleep.

But is this personal Psalm of Lament tonight about a man suffering from insomnia, or is it, as one theologian believes, “A deliberate vigil of a man  fighting sleep precisely so that he can pray and meditate?”

The theologian Patrick Reardon believes this because of these words by the Psalmist, “In the day of trouble I sought God, my hands raised up to Him during the night…My eyes stood sentinel through the watches…I meditated in the night and communed with my heart and stirred up my spirit.”

As Reardon points out, “This is the prayer of a man struggling to stay awake, not someone unable to fall asleep.”

These thoughts raise some interesting questions, don’t they?

What is sleep meant for? First, the body needs rest to operate. Sleep can help one remain healthy or recover from an ailment or injury, too.

But let’s reflect on the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane momentarily. As Jesus brought His disciples to the Garden that first Maundy Thursday, where He had prayed before, He instructed the disciples to sit and pray. Then the Gospel of St. Matthew says,

And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”

He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy.

So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.” (Matthew 26:37-46)

What do you suppose is causing such a great sleep to come upon these disciples? Some believe the reason for their sleepiness is found in these words of Jesus, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”

The reason for their slumbers is the incredible weight of grief and sorrow. And at this moment, sleep has not become a means of rest and refreshment but a refuge for the weary…the way of avoidance.

Sleep in these instances reveals just how real Jesus’ words are: “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is oh so weak, isn’t it?

This is the challenge with true vigils; they force us to remain awake well into the evening hours, to keep watch, and to pray.

Prayer is a challenge for us, just as it was for the disciples, too. Did you notice how the first verse of Psalm 77 also teaches us to pray? The Psalmist writes, “I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me.”

Now, it was common practice for prayer in the days of the Psalmist and for Jesus to be made aloud. But is this how we pray? Aloud?

If I had to guess, most tend to be more the praying in thoughts kind of people. Meaning, thinking, and pondering the words one would like to speak to God, but never making them known to God, never permitting them to flow off the lips or allowing them to become audible.

Yet, isn’t this how we make our thoughts known to one another, by speaking them audibly? We do this because we know that when we communicate in such a way, the person we have chosen to converse with will hear us and know our thoughts. When we pray aloud, we also learn to express our faith in God because we know He is listening and can help in our times of great need.

The Psalmist had this faith; it’s why he raised his voice in prayer.

In fact, the closing portion of the Psalm, beginning with verse 13, brings to light God’s redemptive act of saving the children of Israel from captivity and leading them through the Red Sea, where Pharoah and his armies would be drowned and killed. Israel would be relieved of Egypt’s night terrors and the threats of evil that pursued them at that time.

As your lives are filled with terrors, griefs, and sorrows, remember how God has brought you through the waters of Holy Baptism. He leads you as His flock through the darkness of this life because His Son, Jesus, died upon the cross for you. He entered the darkness of that first Good Friday for you. So, you would know where to turn and where to call out for help.

As the season of Lent is nearing its end, let us learn not to sleep on the troubles of life. When the night of affliction comes, pick up your Bible or hymnal and speak your pleas for help to God aloud. Pray the Psalms, read the Scriptures, and sing the hymns – for in them, God comes to you with His peace. +INJ+

Rev. Noah J. Rogness

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Tomah, WI