A Place of Rest; Aug 4 2019 sermon on Acts 20:7-20

Rev. George Miller
Aug 4, 2019
Acts 20:7-12

For the last 2 months we’ve journeyed through the Book of Acts. We’ve seen highs; we’ve experienced lows. We’ve seen success; we’ve experienced danger.

Last time we gathered Paul was all alone in Athens, trying to make the most of a magenta moment.

What a difference time and perseverance can make, because now Paul is traveling with a new tribe; a group of church leaders from Asia, Europe, and Greece.

They have exotic names likes Aristarchus and Gaius, and joy of joys- Paul has been reunited with his travel buddy Timothy.

They’re on their way back to Jerusalem with offerings from their individual churches to give to the main church so they can continue to run their food pantry, reaching out to the widows, orphans and immigrants.

But there’s a stop at Troas, and what we witness is one of the 1st reportings of a Christian worship service.

It takes place on Sunday, which is a marked difference from the Saturday Sabbath services that have taken place for hundreds of years.

As the official start of the week, most of those present have worked that day. So, they meet at night, upstairs in someone’s house.

They’ve shared a meal. Candles are burning. Paul is talking and teaching, teaching and talking, when they get a surprise.

Young Eutychus falls asleep and falls out the window, three stories down!

Why oh why does one of the earliest reports of a church service have to involve someone sleeping during the sermon!

And what’s the deal with Eutychus? Didn’t his parents teach him proper manners?

But let’s not be hasty with Euty. There can be many reasons why he fell asleep. After all, he most likely worked that day from sunup to sundown, and now it’s midnight.

He’s in a hot, stuffy room filled with all these candles; he’s had a good meal, and the cool air from the open window must have felt so refreshing.

I know that I can’t be hasty with Euty. I think of my own worship experiences, back in my 20’s when I worked 3 jobs just to make the bills.

Sunday service was the one time in the entire week in which I could just sit, and be, and not wait on tables, or wipe noses, or worry about tomorrow.

So, when the sermon came along, something inside me would just…release, exhale, and say “Everything is OK.”

I would close my eyes and give into that moment of total and utter calm.

Perhaps that’s how it was for Euty. To spend all day working, barely making a dent in his debt.

Then to come to worship Sunday night, to hear the Good News, to be surrounded by people hearing about grace and mercy.

Perhaps Euty did not fall asleep out of boredom but because he felt peace hearing about God’s kingdom.

Maybe there are other reasons Euty was there at that late-night worship service.

Maybe Euty did not want to go home?

What if his home was not a safe place? What if his home was a place of violence, or abuse, where family members said unkind words or did unkind things to one another?

What if there was no food at home? What if it was the 16th of the month and supplies had run out, and Euty knew that if he came to worship, he’d be fed?

What if Euty had no home? That he was like one of the people we see at the library who has no place to stay?

That worship was not just a time for him, but it was a place where he could receive shelter, and a place to rest his head, even if it was against a windowsill 3 stories up?

Or maybe Euty was having his own magenta moment and the chance to simply be surrounded by others was way better than being alone?

We will never know what reasons were behind Eutychus falling asleep and falling out the window.

But we do know that he was human, and what happened to him was a very human thing…

…It’s hard to believe, but I have now been here for over 9 years. In those 9 years there have been some enlightening learnings.

One of those learnings has been that going to church is not easy for some people, especially as we age and experience changes in our lives.

This became clear 5 years ago as one couple shared that it was getting harder and harder to make it to worship.

One of them was now doing the waking, changing, dressing and transporting of the other, a daily ritual that could take 1-3 hours of time.

To make it to worship they would have to wake up earlier than possible.

Over the years the reality of physicality and worship has become more real.

Those with back problems who have expressed how hard it is to sit in one place for extended periods of time.

Those with bowel issues who are unsure of when nature will call.

Those who find the ability to stand and sit, sit and stand more and more difficult; or to move around the sanctuary when passing the peace.

Or whose eyes continue to grow dim and the words in the bulletin, the hymnal, the screen are just too hard to see.

Why are we talking about this?

All of these physical realities are very real and shared by more people than we would like to imagine.

It is part of being human; and it is part of being church.

Today, I’d like to say something publicly that I find myself having to say more and more privately-

No matter who you are, or where you AND your body are on life’s journey- you are welcome here.

What does this mean?

It means that if you find yourself coming to a place in your life in which 9:30 is becoming more and more difficult to make, don’t let that stop you from attending worship.

Come at 9:35, come at 9:45, come at 10. Come at 10:30, because you’ll still get to experience worship through fellowship, food, and friends.

That also includes the Bible Study and Book Study- if you’re late, no one will mind.

If your back hurts and you can no longer sit for 60 minutes straight, don’t be afraid to stand up if need be.

You can walk to the back; you can step into the Narthex. It is OK.

If your body is doing what bodies do and you feel more comfortable sitting in the last row, sit in the last row.

If you’re invited to stand and your feet say “Nah ah, not today,” give yourself permission to sit.

If you feel the need to sleep, fall asleep with the assurance that no one will judge you and you won’t be falling down a flight of stairs.

We are in a sanctuary surrounded by the presence of Jesus Christ and embraced by the Holy Spirit.

This is a place of rest.

It is a place of refuge.

It is a place of restoration.

This is a place to let go of worries and give them to God; to exhale the pathogens of the world and inhale the medicine of our Maker.

Here is a sanctuary in which everyone should feel safe.

There is so much in our current time that can knock us out, drop us down 3 flights of stairs and take the wind out of us.

But, in this place, in this moment, we are free to be, to rest. To relax, to be present.

To have someone remind you that you are Ok, that life is still within you, and you are embraced by the arms of Christ.

Amen and amen.