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Week Twenty, Day Three

Acts 27: 21-26

So, after many days on a small ship, in a storm-tossed sea, Paul, Luke, Aristarchus, Julius the Centurion, the captain and all the sailors had done all they could and all hope was lost. Then the prisoner takes charge. Rather than tell the story let me let you read it just as Luke tells it:

Since they had been without food for a long time, Paul then stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and thereby avoided this damage and loss. I urge you now to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For last night there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before the emperor; and indeed, God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you.' So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we will have to run aground on some island.”

Paul can't resist saying, “I told you so,” but then he encourages them from his own reservoir of faith. In his time of prayer, he received assurance that he would survive this and ultimately stand before the emperor.

This seemed to help, but, after 14 days had passed, during the night the sailors sensed that they were being blown against land. They lowered four anchors and prayed for day. Then, under the pretext of lowering more anchors, the sailors tried to make their escape in the lifeboat. Paul recognized what they were doing and warned the centurion that if the sailors abandoned ship all would be lost. The centurion had his soldiers cut the ropes and the boat fell into the sea. Now they really were literally stuck in the same boat. Then Luke writes:

Just before daybreak, Paul urged all of them to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been in suspense and remaining without food, having eaten nothing. Therefore I urge you to take some food, for it will help you survive; for none of you will lose a hair from your heads.” After he had said this, he took bread; and giving thanks to God in the presence of all, he broke it and began to eat. Then all of them were encouraged and took food for themselves. (We were in all two hundred and seventy-six persons in the ship.) After they had satisfied their hunger, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea.

This is an amazing scene. Paul the prisoner presides over a Eucharistic-like meal. An old preacher once described the three most amazing acts of gratitude: Jesus, in the face of torture and execution by the state, takes bread and wine and gives thanks. Pilgrims, having lost much of their family, and facing another harsh New England winter, gather with Native Americans to give thanks. And Paul, a prisoner on his way to a Roman jail, in the midst of a storm, gathers with his captors and gives thanks. There we have the essence of true faith: Gratitude that trusts God even in the midst of life's storms.

Blessings,

Michael Piazza
President, Hope for Peace & Justice

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