Awake

When the going gets tough, Jesus’ disciples have trouble staying awake.

When Peter, James, and John are confronted with his glory as he is transfigured before their eyes, they become weighed down with sleep.

On the night he was arrested, when Jesus implores his disciples to come and pray with him, but when he looks up they are asleep. Asleep because of grief, as Luke says.

Sleep is an escape from the world. Newborn babies know this. Honestly, there are times I cannot wait for the end of the day so I can escape into sleep. And, if even a good night sleep is not enough to take care of the grief, we might find ourselves effectively sleepwalking through our days. As though we are shrouded in a blanket buffering us from the world. We see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing. You don’t have to be asleep to be, well, asleep.

Jesus warns us again and again: Stay awake! Because he sees this problem we have in the face of challenges. Our eyes get glassy, we retreat. We avoid. And it won’t be solved by drinking more coffee or propping our eyelids open with toothpicks – ouch. Jesus’ concern is about our attention.

Stay awake to all that is happening in your midst. Stay awake to all that exists around you. Stay awake to what God is doing, what God is offering, and to what God is calling you.



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