Many acts... but let's sit and talk a while. Acts 20.

This chapter of Acts is filled with significant activites and events, and powerful words from Paul to the elders of Ephesus. Words that speak of sacrifice, false teachings, responding to prophetic words, and finishing the race. There's plenty for you to respond to in this chapter, and I hope you'll do so.

But I want to talk about a smaller moment, that takes place after Eutychus' plunge to death, and recovery by Paul. In verse 11, we read, Then Paul went back upstairs, and after he had broken bread and eaten, he talked with them a long time, until dawn. (Acts 20:11, NET). Paul had already been speaking to the believers in Troas until midnight. It's likely that this was their church service, held on Sunday, and begun after their working day. It was a long sermon. Long enough and late enough that Eutychus fell asleep, fell out the window, and fell into church history when Paul brought him back to life and back upstairs.

And then after all the excitement, the group shared a meal and continued to talk through the rest of the night. While Paul may have been the main "talker", the Greek word used indicates this was no longer a speech, but a discussion, a chat, if you will. Paul was in town for just a short while, and much had taken place in his life, and, no doubt, in the lives of the Christians in Troas, So they stayed up all night, sharing, discussing, and catching up. If this event happened today, I can imagine the group sitting around a kitchen table, additional chairs pulled into the kitchen to accomodate everyone, someone preparing tea and coffee in the background, and occasionally someone munching on whatever snacks were available.

This is one of those rare glimpses we get into the life of the early church. The word church tends to mislead us. Church is us, the followers of Jesus, in shared community. Jesus gave us a clue about the need and power of community when He said, "For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.” And while our setting on Sunday mornings is not the comfy surroundings of the kitchen table, I cherish our moments together as a moment of community, of church. We get to share what Luke tells us about Paul's latest adventure, what Jesus said to us all, and what Paul said to the early communities of believers. Someone put on a pot of coffee, and let's catch up.