Embrace It

There is a woman who has been a member of the church that I Pastor since it started 18 years ago. For reasons that will soon become apparent, let’s just call her Sleeping Beauty, or SB . To stick with anything for almost two decades is rare. That she has been a part of our congregation for that long says much more about her than it does about me. SB is loyal. SB is consistent. SB is faithful. SB is generous. SB also has been falling asleep during services since she joined our church lol.

These days, her naps are far less noticeable and disrupting than in previous years. But in the early days, her naps were a cause cele’bre’. Sometimes she would snore. Sometimes she would skirl. The cynics among us would complain. The comedians would laugh. And the children, perhaps the most creative of the lot, would seek to time the start, end, and duration of her naps. At first, I was insulted by her siestas and wondered why they kept on hapenning. Was it Me? My message? My manner? My mien? Was it our services? Was the music too loud? Was the music too soft? Were the services too long?

One day I finally mustered up the courage to ask SB why she always fell asleep when she came to church. The truth was quite simple. SB said that she worked the night shift on Saturday evenings. As one of the highest ranking managers, she often had to work double shifts in addition to her regular duties. Despite her enormous work load, SB made a commitment to God that no matter how tired she was, she was going to attend church. And she kept her commitment. But, as SB informed me with a smile, what happened after she arrived was a completely different matter. She promised that she would attend, not stay awake. I couldn’t help but laugh—and understand. She may sleep. But at least she’s there. She embraced a difficult schedule. And I embraced her. We have an understanding.

To be completely honest, I was relieved to discover that it was her work schedule and not my sermons that made her slumber. But regardless of its cause, SB’s habit is not new. It happens in churches all over the country and has occurred throughout the centuries. SB is only one example of an incredibly ancient phenomenon. According to Acts 20:7-11 the Apostle Paul was sharing a message one evening in the city of Troas, and something eerily similiar transpired.

Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together. And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, “Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.

Like SB, Eutychus was in church. And Like SB, Eutychus fell asleep. But unlike SB, Eutychus, fell three stories to the floor and was presumed dead! But I find Paul’s response to this situation quite instructive. He immediately cut the message short and went and embraced Eutychus. Thankfully, Paul discovered that he was still alive. Paul could have just as easily kept on preaching. But this text shows his heart. And it also provides us with an important key of success.

By embracing Eutychus, Paul was not only embracing a young man. He was also embracing embarrassment. I am sure that Paul was embarrassed. But sometimes in life, you have to embrace embarrassment. I am sure that Paul was uncomfortable. But sometimes in life, you have to embrace discomfort. I am sure that Paul was worried. But sometimes in life, you have to embrace worry.

As embarrassing, uncomfortable, and worried as he was, Paul embraced it. And we must do the same. As Mark Manson has written, “any attempt to escape the negative, to avoid it or quash it or silence it, only backfires. The avoidance of suffering is a form of suffering. The avoidance of struggle is a struggle. The denial of failure is a failure. Hiding what is shameful is itself a form of shame.”

So here’s today question: what embarrasing, uncomfortable, or worrying truth or experience have you been trying to avoid?

Perhaps a change in strategy is both appropriate and necessary. As one poet put it,

We are not here to play, to dream, to drift;
We have hard work to do and loads to lift;
Shun not the struggle, face it, ’tis God’s gift.

Embrace the struggle.

Embrace the failure.

Embrace the inconvenient.

Tis God’s gift.