July 30, 2006
“When the Preacher puts ‘em to Sleep”
Acts 20:7-12
Dr. Dan Ivins, preaching

You gotta love Luke’s story about Eutychus the sleeper, about whom I’ve never preached before. Ya’ll can understand why a preacher would resist giving pub to a guy who’s put to sleep by the preacher, can’t you? But it does have value. Because it addresses an interaction between the pulpit and the pew. And especially about lengthy preaching. “As Paul went on and on...Eutychus, who was sitting on a window sill...started to doze off ...and fell to the ground three floors below!”

Now Paul was quite a preacher. But even he put Eutychus to sleep. That doesn’t bode well for the rest of us. In Romans, Paul’s words are like music to a preacher’s ears: “How can we call on one in whom we have not believed? How can we believe in one whom we’ve never heard? How can we hear without a preacher?” Every preacher likes to hear that. Never mind the headaches that go with administration or trying to make a church hum. The privilege of just standing up in the pulpit on Sunday morning and lettin’ it fly! Whew! “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Because everywhere we turn there’s so much bad news, somebody’s gotta tell us about the good. Feeling good about my own preaching one day I said to Libby going home: “Do you know how many good preachers there are around here?” She said, “Yeah, One less than you think!” “How beautiful are the feet ...of those who keep preachers humble!” The last thing I wanta do is be too hard on preachers today. Paul or anybody else. (I love the doxology, cause I get to do my own version of it. “Praise God all “preachers” here below!” The “creatures?” Ah, they’ll have to take care of themselves. I’m doxologizing the preachers!)

The sheer impossibility of preaching! It’s not like we’re surgeons or football coaches or presidents. Think of it. Every time a specialist goes into the operating room to perform a hip replacement. He knows before he goes, what he’s gonna do. There may be a hitch here and there. But basically he performs the same procedure over and over again. After awhile, you get it down pat. 98% successful.

But preachers can’t do that. Even the most seasoned preachers know you’re a rookie every time you sit down to prepare for Sunday’s preaching. That’s because everything’s different. Nothing is the same. Some are here that you’ve never met before. Who knows what they bring with ‘em? Because life has happened to them since last Sunday. The headlines in the paper are different. New land mines are planted in the church for you to trip over. Even the life of the preacher is different from the last time you’re together. The context is the same, the sanctuary, the pulpit. But the biblical text is different. That’s why I’ve never done a re-run. At 1 place. Life changes fast and that’s what makes preaching different. And a very imprecise endeavor. Unlike a pharmacist, who prescribes the same thing for different bodies, a preacher never knows just how any sermon is gonna turn out. Often you don’t even know it after you’ve preached it. You get used to waiting on the results. If you’re a baseball player and hitting .300, you’re doing very well. But that’s 70% misfire! Even the great Apostle Paul, the Derek Jeter of the 1^st century pulpit, occasionally struck out.

Like in Acts 20. On the 1^st day of the week, they came together to affirm one another and break bread. And Paul started to preach...and preach...and preach. You know how somebody gets to waxing-eloquent? And rocks back on his heels, so caught up in his message that he forgets about the time? And the old start to feel ill and the young can’t sit still?

Well Paul had a young man listening to his preaching, named Eutychus, which means “fortunate.” As Paul went on and on, Eutychus was sitting on a precarious perch, the window sill! Well he shouldn’t have done that! ‘Cause he got drowsy and went to sleep and fell 3 stories below!

When they rushed down to see about him, he wasn’t breathing. But Paul, ever Johnny-on-the-spot, threw his arms around him and said to the others, “There’s no need to worry, he’s still alive.” Then it was back up the stairs and on with the service, as if nothing unusual happened!

Luke contrasts Eutychus’ trivial dozing off to bringing them back to the Lord’s table. There they become part of God’s larger purpose. Eutychus represents most people today, who aren’t interested in the church anymore. Not because of something lacking in them. But something they think’s lacking in the church. In a lot of cases, it is.

But people vote with their feet. If they don’t show up for worship, its either because they don’t think anything of value will happen to them in church. Or because they’ve tried it and got nothing out of it. A lot of people get more out of the movies or PPAC than going to church. You’ve seen the pictures of rock concerts. Thousands of our young, doing what the “holy rollers” used to do in church! Waving their hands in the air, dancing around in a swoon. Idolizing the performing musicians.

That’s given birth to a new movement in the modern church to go “contemporary” in worship, to reach all those “young seeker families” out there who won’t respond to the traditional church. So church today boils down to proper marketing techniques, dumbing-down worship, and entertainment. Others are turned off by the church’s buying into the status quo and predictable resistance to change.

I’m intrigued that Luke doesn’t make much of the miraculous raising of Eutychus. In one sense, nothing out of the ordinary happens in church. For 48 Sunday’s per year, a pastor look into the faces of the people. And while many are attentive, a few like Eutychus are always ½ asleep. We’ve come to recognize the tell-tale signs, the head nods, the eyes more-or-less closed and the mouth more-or-less open!

Some who take up for Paul might wanta blame Eutychus. Ah, he was up ½ the night, with his girlfriend. Or maybe it’s the smoke from the burning lamps that got to him. But I don’t wanta jump on Eutychus either. He serves a purpose to all preachers -- to remind us that our preaching can literally bore people to death if we don’t put much into it. I’m not saying Paul didn’t put much into it. On the other hand, he put too much into it! But nothing’s fool proof. Sam Beachen said to me one Sunday, “You stopped preaching before I stopped listening.” That’s what you’re after.

Eutychus oughta be the patron saint for all preachers. Maybe we could see a little statue of him in the church store downstairs. And be put on every desk where sermons are prepared and every pulpit from where they’re preached. And re-enact this story in Acts 20. Then when we go too long, the statue of ol’ Eutychus would start to snore! And then commence to tottering over the edge until finally, he tumbles 3 flights down on the carpet below!

But then maybe Eutychus does deserve some of the blame. There’s no question about Paul’s role. Luke allows as how he preached too long. But could it be that when Eutychus went to church that night, he wasn’t really there? Just going thru the motions? A lot of folks come to church like that. Maybe he was a teenager and his parents made him go. If so he didn’t really wanta be there. Or maybe his girlfriend did wanta go and he was just trying to impress her by occupying a prominent place like the window sill. Or maybe its like this prayer some people pray before the preacher starts preaching: “Now I lay me down to sleep. You know this stuff’s gonna get long and deep. If he should quit before I wake, nudge me Lord, for heaven’s sake!” Maybe Eutychus went to church not expecting anything to happen. So nothing did. Except that attitude can get you killed! Is this serious or what?

The greatest assaults on the church are not from the atheists or liberals or conservatives. But from the thousands of indifferent members, who think nothing eternal is going on here. Apathy will destroy a home, a vocation, a church. I’ve preached in Cuba and Russia, some hard places. When you preach there, people listen. There are no Eutychus’ in places like those, because they’re so hungry for beautiful feet and a good word from the Lord. But here in USA, people have it all. And it’s a greater challenge to stimulate middle-class Americans than Cuban Communists. The churches have to many members like Eutychus. Whose bodies are there. But their mind is miles away. Disinterested Eutychus. Too involved with periferal things. Do you know what the Bible calls that? Idolatry.

But the story has a happy ending. The final word is not a tragic death. Eutychus just got the wind knocked out of him! Luke ends the account with re-awakened faith. A 3^rd Pentecost. It doesn’t conclude in lullaby-land and apathy. But with renewed commitment to life and faith. For just as the Spirit of God breathed new life into the dead Eutychus, it allowed Paul to say, “No need to worry about him. He still has some life left.” So let’s hope there may be some life left in us.

A lot of people come to church with a critical spirit to be entertained. Like consumers we want something for our money. Or something for nothing. If the audience is pleased by music and preaching then all is well.
But there’s a fine line between an audience and a congregation. An audience gathers to be amused by somebody’s take on the truth. And then talks about it after its over. A congregation gathers to be engaged by the common truth that makes them who they are. And then does something about it after its over. And that’s why we have lots of audiences, but few congregations.

We’ve got it backwards. God is the audience. The ministers are facilitators and the congregation is the participants. Its all an attempt to awaken us from our lethargy. Whatever it takes to arouse us from our spiritual stupor. For some it may take a death in the family or a serious illness to remind us of the faith of our mothers and fathers. Or like the Prodigal Son, it takes hitting the bottom of a pig-sty to get us to “come to ourselves,” and realize there’s more to living than making a living. Those and 100 different ways the Spirit of God breathes new life into our apathetic souls.

Luke goes into detail about the story of Mr. Lucky, to remind us about the empty places of our lives, those boring times when nothing’s happening. And in these words from our text, God may be saying to us: “Ah, don’t worry about it. There’s still some life left in ‘em!”
Prayer 7/30/06

Here we are again Lord, knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door. We’ve come to the Meeting House to praise you because you are God, who stands above some of the other things we worship. We bow the knee before you, because you forgive us, your wayward children of our unworthy loyalties we give ourselves to.

We misdirect our worship, misplace our loyalties, and misspend our affection. But we keep knockin’ on heaven’s door with confidence and faith. Bring renewal to the weary, confidence to the discouraged, and healing for those who are hurting.

We bless you Lord, for coming to this earth thru the back door, and still offer to us those back-door mercies – things that lift us when we find life is too much for us.

We pray for all in trying times today. Those who lack the will to remove themselves from their misery. Those for whom your name is only a word on a coin, who’ve never heard that you are love; who’ve paid too much to achieve success & yearn to recover a soul lost on the way. We would not forget those who are expected to be what they’re not -- who give in to living @ 33 ½ rpms, but find life spinning around at a dizzying 78 pace.

We pray for light and guidance for our church. For the diversity and commitment that inspires. Save us from easy goals and cautious expectations. Help us to remain realistic and hopeful.

Replenish us in this worship, so that we can be a source of nourishment for others. Enable us to live above the need for praise or the fear of criticism, until life’s day is ended and our work is done.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.