Too drowsy to be dependable?

In the 9th chapter of Luke, we read the story of the Transfiguration. This is one of the Bible stories I loved so much as a child, and as I grew older, I realized how deep it was and, thus, how unlikely it was that I fully understood the passage. I may never fully understand it, but a few things particularly struck me when I reread it again over the weekend.

If you'll remember, Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. But I hadn't really noticed before that the disciples had been overcome by sleep... but becoming fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. One translation I read said that when the woke up, they recognized Moses and Elijah as the men standing with Jesus. (I mention this last because it seemed odd to me that they would recognize Moses and Elijah, who'd lived long, long before the birth of Christ.)

This was the first time I noticed that the disciples were sleeping. (Am I the only one who misses these things?) One of the more important events in the Gospels... where Jesus' glory is revealed to his disciples... and they're sleeping! And just a short time from now, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus will take the same three disciples with him to pray prior to his arrest, and they will again fall asleep. Several times.

It would be quite easy to express disappointment or disapproval at three of Jesus' closest friends who failed to be attentive at such crucial points is his life. This is especially understandable in light of the fact that soon Peter would deny Jesus three times and the disciples would scatter far away as he suffered on the Cross.

But what about us? What about me?

Are we paying attention to Jesus, or are we allowing our minds and senses to become dull? What do we do with opportunities to heed him? Are we faithful, or do we turn tail and run rather than be counted among his followers?