Acts 27: Shipwreck
Thursday, May 16, 2019
This week we spend time reflecting on St. Paul and his role in kingdom building. We take this opportunity to think about the number of times Paul came up against overwhelming odds . . . and was rescued by God. We take confidence in this knowledge for we too, are rescued from the shipwrecks of life.
We have all been tossed onto the shoals of an island, sometimes with friends, sometimes with captors, and sometimes with both . . . rarely do we find ourselves alone in shipwreck.
If you can find the time, spend a dedicated portion of your day or evening with this chapter because it reveals much to us. In my view, the most significant lines are the last . . . [The centurion] ordered those on board who could swim to jump overboard first and get to the shore, and then the rest, some on planks, others on debris from the ship. In this way, they all arrived safely to the shore.
Sometimes we are ordered to go to Rome, to the center of the universe, to the place where all things and all people go – to the place where all roads meet, where all communications converge. Sometimes we go willingly; sometimes we are taken in shackles. Life is at times a forced march, and at other times it is freedom which can be more frightening than captivity. Paul and his companions find themselves en route to the capital city of the empire – Paul wants to have his say before the highest court in order to bring Christ to his largest audience yet.
When we read the description of the storm and its effect upon the travelers, we can liken it to the voyage of our lives – an unpredictable passage through uncertain and open waters. As the ship takes on water and threatens to disintegrate beneath these travelers with their Roman guards, the sailors want to kill the prisoners before they jump to escape the break-up of the foundering boat. I am fascinated by Paul’s calm amidst the chaos of his physical and spiritual life. He has – as a willing servant of the Lord – been thrust into difficult waters and into dangerous arguments . . . yet he continues the journey. He does as he is asked.
The Roman centurion, who had beforehand paid more attention to the pilot and the owner of the ship than to Paul, now re-assesses the situation and does not choose to kill the prisoners; rather he orders those who can swim to go overboard first, the rest to follow. Before this part of the story, Paul exhorts all aboard to take heart; and he relates the dream he had the night before – an angel has told him that all will be well. He outwits the sailors who would abandon ship to leave them adrift to die. He encourages everyone to eat in order to keep up their strength. He offers them the communion of bread to share. Paul ministers to both his captors and his would-be executioners. This is the role of a true apostle.
As my Dad used to say, “If we are taking on water and we are all in the same boat, why are we all not bailing?”
When we find the ship breaking beneath us, as followers of Christ we do not fend for ourselves, we do not accuse or abandon. We are to bring Christ to one another. We are to rebuke those who need rebuking, listen to any admonition a fellow Christian might offer us, tend to those who are weakest, bring all together in Christ and for Christ . . . for Christ knows what lies ahead. Then surely, as loyal and faith-filled servants, we will jump into the surging waters and grab hold of the flotsam of the wreck . . . and riding the roller coaster of the waves of life . . . all will arrive safely to the shore.
Amen.
A re-post from May 1, 2012.
Images from: http://twistedsifter.com/2011/04/25-haunting-shipwrecks-around-the-world/
Written on September 16, 2008 and posted today as a Favorite.
For 25 haunting images of shipwrecks around the world, click on the images above or go to: http://twistedsifter.com/2011/04/25-haunting-shipwrecks-around-the-world/
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