Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matt. 26:39-41
I think of Jesus with his face to the ground, smelling the dirt on the surface of this Earth, this planet that he created. Did it smell like spring, like rich soil? Or was it musty with the smell of sandals passing through this olive grove on the way to somewhere? I think of how little rocks and sand stick to your face as it's pressed to the ground, how anguished tears put streaks on a dusty face and stuff up the nose. I think of how hard and uneven the ground can be under trees, how a root can press up and become painful under the weight of an arm or a thigh. I think of how one's muscles and bones can feel heavy with tiredness at the end of a long and trying day, how they ache for rest.
This story includes so much about the body: face to the dirt, sleepiness, watchfulness, weakness of the flesh. Is that surprising? How have we gotten so disassociated from the body and its senses as we consider a spiritual battle, to think that such a battle is solely about mind or spirit? The body is neither good nor evil; it is simply human, bound up as one with what we call "heart" and "mind." The body is present, active and interactive right along with our thoughts and emotions. The artificial separation between body and soul is a Greek concept; it seems that Matthew gives a nod to the concept but keeps them firmly together in his retelling of this riveting story.
Would that we would be more aware of our bodies as we experience the spiritual, to be whole and wholly absorbed in experiencing God, heart and soul, mind and body, as we make our journeys along the "paths of righteousness."
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