Are You Fully Awake?

Mount Mystic Meditation

“Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but when they became fully awake (or since they had stayed awake), they saw his glory…”Luke 9:32

Many complain about God’s apparent hiddenness and silence. Meanwhile, I wonder how many burning bushes I miss each day as I go about my business with earthbound vision. Western Christianity has tended toward trying to define God with theological propositions. Eastern Christianity has preferred to honor the mystery, enter the cloud of unknowing, and help awaken in people a desire to “participate in the divine nature” (1 Pet 1). We’ve been taught to ask, “What is God like?” The Eastern church might prefer to ask, “How can we behold Him?”

This Advent series has not aimed at practical application messages, but rather to stand in awe before the dazzling glory that visited the Mount of Transfiguration and the Manger, to have our breath taken away while we pick our jaws off the ground. To stand in awe is a worthy Advent project.

Hovering at the center of Luke’s Transfiguration narrative is curious comment about the disciples being “weighed down with sleep.” They almost missed the entire spectacle! What a pity that would have been if they had slept through their alarm clock and never made it to the mountain that day. What a shame if they had dozed off during the dazzling display of divinity under their nose. But let’s be honest: keeping our spiritual eyes opened is one of the central and most difficult parts of spiritual maturity.

What if Moses would have walked right by the burning bush? Would we still not know God’s name? What if Noah missed the memo on building the ark? What if Abraham’s ears weren’t tuned to the angel frequency and killed Isaac that day when the angel said, “Stop!” What if Mary refused her holy vocation to carry the son of God in the womb? What if the Magi didn’t follow the star? What if Joseph didn’t heed the angel’s warning to flee to Egypt and Jesus was killed by Herod’s soldiers? What if the shepherds slept through the appearance of the heavenly host and never heard, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests”?

The Scriptures are full of many such “what ifs” and our lives are too. In my opinion, God would’ve found alternative actors to push his redemptive plans forward if Moses and Abraham and Noah and Mary and Joseph and the Magi and the shepherds would have slept through their divine appointment. But I don’t want to miss my burning bush, do you? I don’t want to be found spiritually asleep when the glory of God passes by my window. I don’t want to be found distracted or deaf to his Voice when he calls on me.

And so we read, “When they became fully awake, they saw his glory” (v. 32), or perhaps because they stayed awake they saw his glory. Either way, they could have missed it! Likewise, God wants to show us things, reveal himself to us, and dazzle us with his presence, and grab our hearts with his glory and love. Are we awake to such visitations? Are we open to the Spirit’s surprises? Are the eyes of our heart scanning the spiritual horizons longing for his return?

Can you think of a time you nearly missed God’s work in your midst? What spiritual practices or habits help keep you awake to the Spirit?

Again, while many will complain about the hiddenness and silence of God, I wonder how many times I miss seeing God’s glory because I am not yet fully awake.