​There was a student in my freshman chemistry class who often fell soundly asleep in class. The class was very interesting and the professor was very good; he also seemed very kind, but as we learned, he had an impish sense of humor. One day, at the beginning of class the prof smeared a gel across the lab table at the front of the room. Near the end of the class he explained that the gel (I believe it was Nitrogen Triiodide) had dried and crystalized so that it was now touch sensitive. He said, “When I slam down this meter stick, the table top will explode.” He did so, and the sleeping student about jumped out of his skin. The student didn’t learn his lesson, for he continued to fall asleep in just about every class. One day near the end of class the professor lowered his voice and asked us to leave the room as quietly as possible. The professor, who taught another class (but a different course) the next hour in the same room, went out in the hall and intercepted the incoming students. He asked them to very quietly enter the room and take their seats. Being curious, like all good students, we hung around, looked in the door, and verified that our fellow student had slept through the whole process. I wasn’t there to see it, but many times over the years I’ve visualized that student waking in the middle of a strange class.
 

​Have you ever fallen asleep when you didn’t mean to? Paulette claims that I fall asleep while watching TV. I deny this, since her evidence is slim; it consists only of me asking questions like “is the show over?”, “What happened?” or “Who did it?” The disciples had a similar experience in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus went to pray, and when he returned to the disciples he found them sleeping, even though he had asked them to keep watch. And this happened three times! This episode in the Bible speaks to us today, and it’s more than about not falling asleep during sermons. After chiding them Jesus says to the disciples, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.” That is, not to fall asleep is about having awareness of the temptations we face and praying for help to resist them. To learn about Jesus and the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane read Mark 14:32-42 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.
Jim​