Advent: A Journey of Awakening

Awakening

– by Sharlande Sledge

Wake us up, God!

Here we are,

rubbing the sleep out of our eyes,

still drowsy and dozing.

And you, Emmanuel God,

are awake with life,

coming to us from on high

to startle us with incarnation.

 

Stretching and yawning

from ordinary time,

we stumble to the door of your Advent.

At first we may not recognize

the outline of your face.

The night is too much with us,

but the dawning is with you.

The light whispers your coming.

 

So wake us up, Lord Jesus.

Wake us when our expectations are too low.

Wake us up when our expectations are too high.

Wake us when we least expect it.

Wake us to your everlasting light.

(pg. 3 Prayers and Litanies for the Christian Seasons)

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Advent is very much about awakening – shaking off our spiritual slumber and opening up our hearts and minds to the sacred, awakening to the divinity that dwells within us, to the presence of God and his will for our lives.

Over 500 years ago Ignatius of Loyola said that the most important of all the spiritual disciplines is not meditation, but what he calls the “awareness examine.”  The awareness-examine was a spiritual exercise he gave to the Jesuits and to anyone who came to him for spiritual direction.  Its design was to examine how aware or awake one was to God in his or her life.  Ignatius suggested that at the end of each day, one would sit and ask oneself, “When was I most aware of life today?  In what event or idea or transaction was life present in a strong form in my day?”

This Advent I am asking myself these questions each evening:

Was I awake to God’s coming into my life today?

When was I most alive today?

In what event or idea or transaction did I experience the Advent of God in my day?

And each morning I am praying:

Wake me up, God.  Here I am.

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This post is part of the December Synchroblog, “Advent: A Journey”.  A synchroblog is a collection of similar articles or posts made by a diverse group of bloggers who have agreed to blog on the same topic on the same day. You can find a list of all the participants at the end of this post.  If you’re a blogger & want to be part of future synchroblogs, you can join on facebook or go to our new synchroblog site and subscribe.

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• John C. O’Keefe – The Season of Adventure
• George at The Love Revolution – The Weak Ghosts of Advent
• Peter at Emerging Christian – Expanding Our Experience of the Advent Journey
• Beth at Beth Stedman.com – Experiencing Advent With A Toddler
• Alan at The Assembling Of The Church – Walking Through Advent Today
• Steve at Emergent Kiwi – Am I Traveling Well?
• Wendy at View From The Bridge – Yearning For a Lived Theology
• Annie at Marginal Theology – Limping Along
• Christen at Greener Grass – Advent – Expecting and Un-Expecting
• Jeff at My Adventures – Journeys and Destinations
• kathy at carnival in my head – making room for the unexpected
• Sonja at Calacirian – Road To Nowhere
• Steve at Khanya – Advent Synchroblog
• Beth at The Virtual Teahouse – Clear-Eyed Gaze of a Stranger
• Phil at Square No More – O Antiphon #1 – This is the first of nine antiphones. Please check Phil’s blog Square No More regularly for additional updates with the additional 8 antiphones.
• Peggy at Abisomeone – Wandering With The Waiting Abbess
• Cathryn at Love Fiercely – An Advent Prayer
• HeySonnie at A Piece of My Mind – Christmas WILL Happen
• Liz at Grace Rules – Advent – A Journey of Awakening
• Andrew at Tall Skinny Kiwi – God Came Near