THE THREE SLEEPERS OF CENTREVILLE

Whether you are Joseph taking your family into Egypt, or the wise and foolish virgins with their oil, Advent is about being a light sleeper and ready to awaken.  But Christian legend also tells of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus.  Under the emperor Decius in 250 AD, seven youths hid in a cave to escape his persecution, but Decius blocked the cave and buried them alive.  God however sent them a magical sleep and after 200 years, they woke up to discover that the empire had become Christian.  It was a miracle found in the writings of the Church fathers and St. Augustine, even the Koran and Rip Van Wrinkle.  So, sleeping and waking are very important.  In a still lesser known legend, Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar climbed into three stockings on their way to see the Christ child, except they awoke 2000 years later in pre-school classroom in Centreville …

WESLEY’S QUESTION:  Do I go to bed on time and get up on time?

SCRIPTURE:  Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.  For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.  As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.  But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’  Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.  And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’  And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.  Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’  Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (Matthew 25:1-13)  See also Ephesians 5:14

FOOLISH WISDOM:  “I haven’t slept for 6 days.  Because that would be too long.” (Mitch Hedberg)

MUSIC SELECTION:

Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Sleepers Awake) 

BWV 645 by Johann Sebastian Bach

Laura Hesse, organ