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11.16.08

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

NON-DROWSY DISCIPLESHIP

DANIEL 12:1-3; 1 THESSALONIANS 5:1-11

Sleep Deprivation

The Value of Napping

Recent studies have shown that taking a good 30-minute nap in the afternoon at least three times a week cannot only energize you for the rest of the day, it can also reduce your risk of heart-related death by 37 percent

Regular napping lowers stress levels
So go ahead and take a nap…but at least wait until you get home this afternoon!

Granted, there are some places where taking a nap may not be such a good idea

Some jobs require that you stay awake and alert
While sleeping on the job isn’t always a good practice, some companies have found that by providing a place where employees can catch some Z’s in the afternoon actually increases productivity

We are very much a sleep deprived society

Few of us get the recommended minimum of 7 ½ hours of sleep for adults and 10 to 12 hours of sleep for children and youth
We wander through life in a daze
Our productivity level is low because we’re tired all the time
Not only do we put ourselves at risk by not getting enough sleep, we pose a significant danger to others

Drowsy Driving

One area of significant concern is drowsy driving

Nod off for just one second behind the wheel of a car while traveling 60mph and you’ll travel 88 feet without knowing it
Legislators and law enforcement are beginning to realize that drowsy driving is as dangerous as driving drunk
Currently, New Jersey is the only state with a law on the books listing drowsy driving as recklessness under the vehicular homicide statutes
The National Sleep Foundation reports that accidents caused by drowsy driving are largely underreported
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that drowsy driving causes 100,000 police reported crashes a year, causing 1,550 fatalities

There is a company that’s trying to deal with this problem

They’ve introduced a product called No Nap
No Nap is a device that is worn over the ear that resembles a Bluetooth headset like those used with cell phones
The No Nap is designed to sense sudden movements of the head
If you start to nod off while driving, the device will elicit a piercing beep loud enough not only for you to hear but also for your passengers to hear
It’s kind of like an electronic slap in the face

We really need to be aware of those times when we need to rest and when we need to stay alert

Sacking out in the recliner from time to time isn’t a bad thing to do
But there are times when napping can be dangerous
That’s true for our spiritual life as well as our physical life
Falling asleep spiritually can be hazardous to our eternal health

Sleepers Awake!

Spiritual Drowsiness

Spiritual sleepiness was a problem the apostles had to contend with

Apathy and lethargy aren’t new problems in the life of the church
They have been with us since the very early days of the church, and they can significantly influence how effective we are as disciples of Jesus

In the opening chapters of Revelation, the apostle John addresses seven letters to the church

Of all of these letters, the final one addressed to the Church in Laodicea is the most poignant—Revelation 3:14-19
These are powerful words of condemnation for the church in any age

There is nothing that will kill a church faster than apathy

An apathetic church is one that gives lip-service to Jesus Christ, but Jesus isn’t really present or welcome there
An apathetic church is one that quells the fire of the Holy Spirit, resisting anything that is new or different
An apathetic church is one that thinks of itself first and ignores the needs of the world around them
An apathetic church is one that fuels conflict within it rather than learning to work together as one body to promote the cause of Christ

At the end of this letter, John offers a solution for the problems of a sleepy, apathetic church

That solution is found in the well-known words of verse 20: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.”
Christ’s insistent knocking is like the piercing beep of the No Nap device
It’s intended to wake us up from our slumber
Once we get up to open the door and allow Christ to enter our church and our life, he will provide the nourishment we need, and with that nourishment, the strength and power we need to be the kind of church he wants us to be

Sleep and Death

In 1 Thessalonians, the apostle Paul seems to be giving a clinical treatise on sleep

In the verses preceding our text, Paul talks about “those who have fallen asleep”
Sleep is a common biblical metaphor for death and resurrection as the ultimate wake-up call
Our text from Daniel says, “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to life everlasting, others to shame and everlasting contempt.”
Then Daniel goes on to say that those who are wise and those who lead others to righteousness will shine like the stars of the heavens
These are the ones who haven’t nodded off spiritually, who haven’t become apathetic, who keep awake and alert to the opportunities for ministry around them and who respond to give help where help is needed

With the image of “the day of the Lord” in mind, not knowing when that final resurrection will occur, Paul moves on to address the “sleepiness” that is prevalent in the church

Sadly, so many of us are drowsily careening through life unaware of what’s happening around us and uncaring enough to notice anything but our own needs
Instead, we need to be aware and alert to the signs of Christ’s in-breaking kingdom and be ready to take advantage of opportunities he gives us to help make the kingdom of God a reality
His call to us is to wake up, to stop dozing in the darkness and keep our eyes open to the work of Christ, the resurrection life that seeks to work in us and through us in the present

Darkness and Light

Darkness and light are biblical images that Paul uses to make a statement about awareness

Darkness represents unawareness, the condition of those who have no idea what’s ahead of them
For example, we know that most traffic accidents occur at night when visibility is poor and fatigue is prevalent
Paul seems to understand that nothing good happens in the darkness because the darkness brings out the worst in people
Just read the newspaper or watch the news and you’ll know this is true
Spiritual drowsiness and apathy in the midst of a culture beset by the darkness of self-serving sinfulness is dangerous

Too often the church is clueless about what’s really going on in its own life and in the life of the world around us

We seem convinced that there’s nothing wrong with our current condition
Within the church, we insist that everything is OK exactly the way it is—the way it’s always been—and there’s no need to change anything
When people misbehave and act in a very unchristian fashion, we excuse it as a character flaw—“Well, that’s just the way he/she is.”

Both within the church and out in the world, we’re too sleepy to view sin as a willful act of disobedience to God

Instead, we offer excuses to justify people’s behavior
We look at the problems of injustice and violence in the world and turn the newspaper page with a yawn
Is the problem that we are drowsy Christians, or is the problem that we simply don’t care?
Through these words in 1 Thessalonians, Paul challenges us to snap out of it—to wake up to the most important purpose of our lives: a transformational relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Truth is, there are many churches that are populated by spiritually drowsy, apathetic people

How important it is that we hear Paul’s words and remember that we are children of the light
We have been called out of the darkness into the light of Christ’s presence and we have been entrusted to be light-bearers so that others might see the light and find their way out of the darkness
“You are the light of the world,” Jesus said. “Let your light shine before others that they might see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14 & 16)

Our Wake-up Call

Like the No Nap device that triggers an alarm when our head starts to nod, we are already equipped with tools to help keep us awake and alert, tools we can use to respond to the needs of others

These tools are faith, love and hope
Paul says, “But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”
It’s faith in God that enables us to love and provide hope for the hopeless
And Paul urges the church to encourage one another and build each other up

The No Nap device is a good idea, but it will only work to wake up drowsy drivers if people use it

Faith, love and hope are good tools for faithful service, but they only work if we’re willing to use them
Drowsiness and apathy set in when faith, love and hope are ignored
Drowsiness and apathy set in when we spend our energy discouraging one another and tearing one another down rather than encouraging each other and building one another up
How easy it is for us to slip into a state of drowsy discipleship

In 2 Thessalonians 3:13, Paul again reminds the church to “never become weary in doing what is right.”

These are words we need to hear again and again
The Christian church has often been characterized as a “sleeping giant” that’s slumbering peacefully while the world around it slides further into the darkness
Certainly, it’s time we had a wake-up call