On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. 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. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "He's alive!" Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.”
Acts 20:7-12
The story of Eutychus is perhaps the most humorous story I have found in scripture. As a preacher, I find the idea of someone falling asleep during my sermon to be incredibly embarrassing, but the idea that someone might literally drop dead is beyond words. And Paul, even after realizing that young Eutychus has become so weary and bored of his preaching doesn’t just continue to preach his sermon, he preaches until the sun comes up.
Most of the times I have heard this story discussed the focus hasn’t been on Eutychus at all, rather the focus has been on Paul’s healing miracle. Certainly healing is powerful and needed in our time, but this story also offers the Christian church an opportunity to reflect. Who are the ones who are falling asleep in our sermons? Who are the ones who are sleepwalking through their faith lives? Who are the ones who have fallen out of faith? How can we wake Eutychus up?
For me the answer begins and ends with mission and missional thinking. To be focused on mission in the church means that we are actively striving to invite, welcome, and make known the life-giving love, grace, and mercy of Christ. To be missional means we look for ways to connect the unconnected, to love the unloved, to seek the lost, to feed the hungry, and clothe the naked. For us to be the church God calls us to be we cannot sleepwalk our way the same old tired and worn out practices. We must be willing to change and grow. We must be open to new approaches, new ideas, and innovation.
For some change is threatening, for others it is exciting. The question for our faith community to grapple with is: how can we include Eutychus without excluding those who are already here? How can we strike a balance of moving forward in mission, and moving forward with those who have made the church what it is? These are complicated questions of profound importance for the Christian church. We must find a way to wake Eutychus up, for if we do not the church will cease to exist. We must also be faithful to the Gospel and not compromise our integrity and sense of community. We must be bold yet sensitive, courageous yet discerning, flexible yet purposeful. Quite simply, we must be faithful to God’s call to serve and love one another.
Acts 20:7-12
The story of Eutychus is perhaps the most humorous story I have found in scripture. As a preacher, I find the idea of someone falling asleep during my sermon to be incredibly embarrassing, but the idea that someone might literally drop dead is beyond words. And Paul, even after realizing that young Eutychus has become so weary and bored of his preaching doesn’t just continue to preach his sermon, he preaches until the sun comes up.
Most of the times I have heard this story discussed the focus hasn’t been on Eutychus at all, rather the focus has been on Paul’s healing miracle. Certainly healing is powerful and needed in our time, but this story also offers the Christian church an opportunity to reflect. Who are the ones who are falling asleep in our sermons? Who are the ones who are sleepwalking through their faith lives? Who are the ones who have fallen out of faith? How can we wake Eutychus up?
For me the answer begins and ends with mission and missional thinking. To be focused on mission in the church means that we are actively striving to invite, welcome, and make known the life-giving love, grace, and mercy of Christ. To be missional means we look for ways to connect the unconnected, to love the unloved, to seek the lost, to feed the hungry, and clothe the naked. For us to be the church God calls us to be we cannot sleepwalk our way the same old tired and worn out practices. We must be willing to change and grow. We must be open to new approaches, new ideas, and innovation.
For some change is threatening, for others it is exciting. The question for our faith community to grapple with is: how can we include Eutychus without excluding those who are already here? How can we strike a balance of moving forward in mission, and moving forward with those who have made the church what it is? These are complicated questions of profound importance for the Christian church. We must find a way to wake Eutychus up, for if we do not the church will cease to exist. We must also be faithful to the Gospel and not compromise our integrity and sense of community. We must be bold yet sensitive, courageous yet discerning, flexible yet purposeful. Quite simply, we must be faithful to God’s call to serve and love one another.
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