To Rest, Not to Sleep, in Vigilance

“Come to me all you who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

“Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you not undergo the test.” Mark 22:47

“Jesus is in agony until the end of time. Until then, we cannot sleep.” Pascal

Scripture instructs us to rest in the Lord, but not to sleep, but to keep watch in vigilance. This is a striking paradox.

Sleep is, of course, a primal human need. Those with nervous and addictive personalities are especially counseled to avoid HALT: becoming inordinately hungry, angry, lonely or tired. Under the stress of these triggers, the weakened psyche is prone to toxic, self-destructive compulsions and decomposition. In my own youth, natural stamina and energy allowed me to tolerate a degree of sleep deprivation but upon approaching middle age (late 40s) I learned that such indulgence made my fragile body-psyche-spirit vulnerable to nervous debilitation and compulsivity. For about a decade and a half, I have considered a good night’s sleep my number one survival priority. In cases like my own, vigilance urges and requires adequate sleep: I try to be in bed between 8 and 9 PM which allows me to arise around 5 PM for prayer.

Surely then scripture cannot be advising sleep deprivation; rather, sleep here is understood metaphorically as a failure in vigilance, a grogginess, an escape, an avoidance. We are exhorted to watch, to be alert, to wait on the Lord and be prepared for temptation and testing, always prepared to renounce the attack of the evil one. “Sleep” in this sense refers to the maidens who fell into a slumber when they should have been waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom, in readiness and expectation.

At the same time, however, we are constantly encouraged in God’s Word to rest: to be quiet and still, trusting, like a child in her mother’s arms, still and hopeful. This state of rest imitates the Rest of God which is at the same time Action, for within God rest and action are not contradictories or polarities, but mysteriously indwell each other. And so, the holy person, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, can be active and yet in an internal state of rest. St. Faustina, for example, in her diary, speaks constantly of her trust in God and her relaxation in his Mercy and yet she tells us that this is a time of struggle, not of rest. So we see that she was fairly constantly in a state of spiritual combat but interiorly was at rest, confident and trusting. This calls to mind an image of General Robert E. Lee who, even in the midst of very bloody battles, maintained a composure, a sobriety, and a dignified serenity.

And so we pray for this peace that surpasses understanding, a peace the world cannot give, a state of rest, confidence, and serenity; a rest that awakens us to vigilance and alertness; a calm and steady eagerness to endure patiently, to renounce evil, and receive the coming of our Lord.

See you at the Parousia!