.....though some have fallen asleep

From the church notices…..

“Janet is still in the hospital awaiting further tests. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor John’s sermons.”

The church that my wife and I met and were married in had a number of unwritten rules. One of those rules was not to fall asleep during the sermon. The Pastor of the church was likely to come down from the pulpit and wake you up.

I am reminded of a story I heard recently……

The preacher was in the middle of an important point. He had heard from God….he had preached fire and brimstone at the faithful….only to spy one of the flock fast asleep. Stopping the sermon, the preacher asked the man sitting next to the poor chap to wake him up. “You come down here and wake him up yourself….you were the one that put him to sleep!”

I think that the following is one of the most curious passages in the New Testament:

"We met on Sunday to worship and celebrate the Master's Supper. Paul addressed the congregation. Our plan was to leave first thing in the morning, but Paul talked on, way past midnight. We were meeting in a well-lighted upper room. A young man named Eutychus was sitting in an open window. As Paul went on and on, Eutychus fell sound asleep and toppled out the third-story window. When they picked him up, he was dead.

Paul went down, stretched himself on him, and hugged him hard. "No more crying," he said. "There's life in him yet." Then Paul got up and served the Master's Supper. And went on telling stories of the faith until dawn! On that note, they left—Paul going one way, the congregation another, leading the boy off alive, and full of life themselves." [1]

I love the way The Message translation can breathe new life into old passages. (thankyou Eugene Peterson!) I have sat through many many sermons that went “on and on.” Our Pastor used to preach the “sermon before the sermon”…the sermon….and then the “sermon after the sermon.” If you picked the right time you could pretend to be praying or reading your Bible and have a little micro-nap – all the while appearing spiritual.

It appeals to me that the author of the Book of Acts makes a point of saying “Our plan was to leave first thing in the morning, but Paul talked on, way past midnight.” Apparently, even the Apostle Paul had the tendency to go “on and on.”

What can we learn from this passage?

1. If you do fall asleep in church people may assume that you are praying.
2. The gospel should be communicated in a way that does not put the listeners to sleep
3. Don’t sit in open windows
4. God really does have a sense of humour.

Pictures from http://www.thebricktestament.com/
[1] Acts 20:7-12 – The Message