Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.

 

Friday, August 25, 2023


Psalm 135

2 Samuel 32-51

Acts 20:1-16


Observance: Ebba of Coldingham, abbess (d. c. 683)


Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.


There is a story of a time when a preacher got up to deliver a sermon. He had forgotten his watch; and after extemporising for an insufferable length of time, apologised to the congregation for being without his time piece. “You don’t need a watch” replied one wag, “you need a calendar!”


If hymn selection is the trench warfare between congregants and preacher, then a preacher’s preaching is the air battle. Every preacher must have looked at this text about poor Eutychus and seen certain assurance that there is no such thing as too long of a sermon. If St Paul can get away with it, then surely so can the reverend!


But there is something about this passage that is both more interesting and encouraging, and that is the model of how the first church met. It is from Biblical examples such as these that we have designed our modern Sunday service: the faithful have gathered; an exhortation is given; bread is broken; fellowship is enjoined. Luke describes for us what must have been a beautiful moment in the week of those first Christians. They had no prayer book, they had been kicked out of the synagogue, and the Temple was miles away in Jerusalem. These, our spiritual ancestors, did what comes naturally as human beings when we come together; and they did it for the sake of the Lord Jesus.


We Anglicans love to keep a balance of word and sacrament, of Bible and bread. Some of us may enjoy one more than the other, but they are both good for us. When we go out today and meet all the people God has placed in our path, some will need a word, while others will need an action. If we try one and it doesn’t work, do not be alarmed, try the other, for their life is in them.

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