Stay Awake

Please read Leviticus 18-22 and Acts 19 and 20 if you're interested in reading the Bible through in a year.

Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. -Acts 20:9 (NIV)

In one of the churches I served, there was a man who slept during worship every single week. His friend, who sat faithfully beside him and who had a wicked sense of humor, decided to drop a piece of peppermint candy in his open mouth while he slumbered one morning. It ended up not being very funny as the poor guy almost choked to death. Amazing enough, he didn't sleep nearly as much in church after that!

In our assigned reading this morning, Paul is preaching. Because he intended to leave the next day, he had a lot that he wanted to say. It was well after midnight and Paul was still going strong. (And you thought my sermons were long)

You have to figure that those listening to Paul had put in a long day of work and were exhausted. They had broken bread together which meant that there tummies were full. The room was probably packed full of people. Couple that with lots of oil lamps burning and it was probably hot. If you were lucky enough (the name "Eutychus" means "lucky" in Greek), you could get a window seat. That would allow you to enjoy whatever breeze might be blowing and it would also give you other things to look at if the preacher goes on too long (in my church, people count organ pipes or play games on their smart phones).

Eutychus may have been lucky enough to get a good seat, but his luck ran out when he fell asleep and fell out the third-story window to the ground below. Members of the crowd picked Eutychus up dead but Paul went down and discovered that there was life in him yet! Then Paul went back upstairs and continued his sermon.

Now, I realize that people fall asleep during sermons for any number of reasons. One, the sermon may simply be boring. I've heard (and preached) a few of those. People also sleep because they're tired. Sometimes it's not enough just to get to church; getting some much needed rest the night before is also important. Still others sleep in church because of medication that they're taking, medication that they can't do without.

Regardless of why people sleep during sermons, why do you think this story of someone falling asleep during a sermon is included in scripture? If I had been Paul, I would have lobbied that this story not be included in scripture. Who wants to be known as the one preaching when a kid named "Lucky" fell out a window and died?

I'm guessing that this story was included because of what happens immediately following this story. Paul bids farewell to the leaders of the Ephesian church. He's on his way to Jerusalem, he knows that he will never see these people again, and he knows that once he's gone they will be attacked on all sides in an attempt to distort the truth of the gospel. And Paul's warning to these leaders is this: stay awake.

Have you started to doze off? Why do you think you're falling asleep? How will your slumber affect the way you respond when you're being attacked from every side?

May God grant you the grace to "stay awake" today.