Eutychus Virtual Worship
The References: Acts 20:7-12 A young man named Eutychus was asleep and fell out of the window as Paul was preaching a very long sermon.
The story that emerges: (And it will be a short one. Eutychus has no mention in any index of my sources nor any reference in my books on Paul’s friends.)
The incident takes place in Troas, at the gathering of the Christians there for Paul’s final time with them. At Troas he went on quite a bit. Actually, until well into the night.
A young man named Eutychus was perched in a window. So comfortable was he that he dozed off. In his sleep he lost his balance and fell the three stories to the ground. When Paul and the others went to his aid, they discovered that he was dead. Paul, declaring that life was still in him, prayed over him and Eutychus revived. He was taken to his home where there was great comfort.
And that is beginning and end of the tale of Eutychus.
When we sat down together in heaven, he seemed a bit sheepish, fully aware of why I knew him. My first question was to satisfy my curiosity and asked about the topic of Paul’s sermon. Eutychus gave me a strange look and replied, “How would I know? Remember, I was asleep.” Oh, right.
Pushing a little bit, I ventured that Paul did speak to the distress that this parting would bring. To which came this reply: “Yes, true. But if you are looking for a lead-in that connects your profile with the coronavirus, this won’t do it. We knew we would see Paul here in heaven. You all, on the other hand, have a virus that brings fear and death.”
OK; our future has more angst than yours did and is absent of things eternal, but, knowing that, what would you say to us? Or, what would Paul tell us?
“Kiss the rod.”
Excuse me?
“Kiss the rod. That is the way forward under God’s hand in all circumstances, even yours. It’s a theme that goes back to the 23rdPsalm and Hebrews 12. The disciplining rod of the Lord is to be valued for what it discloses and where it leads us. It’s the same sentiment as the old saw, ‘Don’t waste a good crisis.’ That is variously traced back to Churchill, Rahm Emmanuel, John Piper, and no doubt many others. God has your attention; you have things He wants you to address. Kiss the rod.”
I’m with you there, all the way. As a matter of fact, I have written a compelling list of 14 corrections that the virus exposes. It has gotten a wide reading.
“Come on. You didn’t write that. Bill Gates is the author.”
Apparently not. It was a widely disseminated article but is a hoax that bears his name. No one knows who the author is, so I figured why not. I would claim it for myself for now, until the real author comes forward. It is thoughtful, even if not written by Gates and with no overt reference to God. The theme could well be your point, “Kiss the rod.”
I’ll abridge the list to 9, in honor of the 9 players on baseball teams we will not see for several weeks. These are really good. You will see why I claim authorship.
1) The virus is reminding us that we are all equal, regardless of our culture, religion, occupation, financial situation or how famous we are. This disease treats us all equally, perhaps we should to. If you don’t believe me, just ask Tom Hanks.
2) It is reminding us that we are all connected, and something that affects one person has an effect on another. It is reminding us that the false borders that we have put up have little value as this virus does not need a passport. It is reminding us, by oppressing us for a short time, of those in this world whose whole life is spent in oppression.
3) It is reminding us of how precious our health is and how we have moved to neglect it through eating nutrient poor manufactured food and drinking water that is contaminated with chemicals upon chemicals. If we don’t look after our health, we will, of course, get sick.
4) It is reminding us of the shortness of life and of what is most important for us to do, which is to help each other, especially those who are old or sick. Our purpose is not to buy toilet rolls.
5) It is reminding us of how materialistic our society has become and how, when in times of difficulty, we remember that it’s the essentials that we need (food, water, medicine) as opposed to the luxuries that we sometimes unnecessarily give value to.
6) It is reminding us of how important our family and home life is and how much we have neglected this. It is forcing us back into our houses so we can rebuild them into our home and to strengthen our family unit.
7) It is reminding us that our true work is not our job, that is what we do, not what we were created to do. Our true work is to look after each other, to protect each other and to be of benefit to one another.
8) It is reminding us to keep our egos in check. It is reminding us that no matter how great we think we are or how great others think we are, a virus can bring our world to a standstill.
9) It is reminding us that the power of freewill is in our hands. We can choose to cooperate and help each other, to share, to give, to help and to support each other or we can choose to be selfish, to hoard, to look after only our self. Indeed, it is difficulties that bring out our true colors.
“Not bad. And there is a parallel with my story. God brings life out of death. That was true with me physically, and will be true for your health and your economy. Kiss the rod. David had it right: With the Lord’s rod we may fear no evil and live in the presence of our enemies. See that you take heed, or you may find yourself in my story and sleep through the message.”
No comments:
Post a Comment