The closing chapters of the Book of Acts give us the stories of Paul's
missionary journeys as he seeks to bring Christianity to the whole wide world. Our passage this morning dealt with his transportation
to Rome, when he was going to be put on trial for crimes against the state. The Jewish authorities had wanted him taken
to Jerusalem to be tried for treason. But Paul, knowing his rights as a Roman
citizen, had appealed for his case to be heard in Rome.
He is on a
boat in the Mediterranean Sea, on the way to Rome, when an almighty storm starts to brew. Everyone on board, except Paul, panics. He stays calm, and prophecies
that none of them will come to harm. The ship would be driven ashore to an island, which, when it happened, turned out to
be the island of Malta.
Paul had the
sort of faith that believes in a God who is Lord, even of the storm. He saw the hand of God in the midst of that threatening
tragedy. Right in the middle of the hysteria, we read: "Paul took some bread, gave
thanks to God before them all, broke it, and began to eat. They took heart, and every one of them also ate some food"
(Acts 27:35-36).
The power
of the storm, the wind and the waves, they are reoccurring themes in the New Testament.
The very first disciples were fishermen well acquainted with the mysterious and sometimes deadly forces of nature. Jesus is pictured by the gospel authors as one who can hush the wind and calm the
waters, even walk upon them.
The act of
breaking bread reminds us of other occurrences of sharing bread that brought an unknown peace and sustenance to those present.
Think of occasions such as the feedings of the 5000 and the 4000. Think of the experience of the two men on the Emmaus road,
where the resurrected Christ became known to them at the end of their journey as He broke bread with them.
For those
on the ship with Paul, their journey was far from over. Worse was to come. Through
Paul's encouragement they faced it with a renewed confidence and assurance that somehow amongst all this craziness, disaster,
and madness the hand of God was at work and they need not fear, just trust Him.
A number of
years ago there was a film that had the title, "It's A Mad, Mad World." When
you read or listen to the news you can get the impression that whoever came up with the phrase knew exactly what they were
talking about. For even the Bible pictures a world where chaos rather than creation
reigns, where the forces of darkness seem to win the day, not the grandeur of light. It’s a world which is a fallen
world, a world of fear and struggle and toil whose lord is a prince of darkness, Satan, the great deceiver and father of lies. It’s a world of sin and sinners who care nothing about the love of God and are
positively hostile towards His gentle claim of love upon their lives. It’s a mad,
mad world!
It was that
sort of mad, mad, world that Jesus stepped right into the midst of. A dark, stormy
world that laughed at Him, mocked Him, spat upon Him, and it crucifies Him afresh in every generation. That is one of the
messages that the bread and wine present to us. Jesus, God's precious beloved son, came amongst us. He touched us. He laughed
and cried with us. He healed us. He taught us. He showed us with great love and care that He represented the Living God who
had not abandoned the world but worked to restore and renew it.
So, for that, we crucified Him, broke His body, hammered nails through His flesh and hung Him up for all
the world to see. His blood poured out as He prayed "Father, forgive them, they
don't know what they are doing." And it is quite clear in the storm of the crucifixion, that darkest moment in the pages of
the world’s history, that people didn't know what they were doing. Still less did they understand how God could be mixed
up in it all; that He was about to turn tears into laughter and death into resurrection and disaster into triumph!
The storm
continues to rage and roar around us. The mad, mad world continues in its mad, mad way. BUT… if you and I can somehow
embrace the message of Christ's victory and allow Him to live His life in our lives through the Holy Spirit's power, then
we have nothing to fear. On the contrary, we have every reason to rejoice, for He offers new hope and forgiveness and strength
to serve Him.
There is a hymn that says;
"The storm may roar without me, My heart may low be laid,
But God is round about me, And can I be dismayed?"
You may say
to me, "But, Adrian, I am dismayed, my heart is laid low, you can't be serious, everything's
gone wrong!"
I know it
is so hard to do, but in all humility I say to you, "Stop looking at the storm." Stop focusing on the storm. I'm not saying
ignore it. I'm not saying that it is going to go away. I'm not pretending that
storms don't still cause shipwrecks and tragedy. But when everything around us is out of control we need to hear the still
small voice of calm, the voice of God saying;
"I am the Lord of the storm. Be encouraged.
Things are not out of control. I, the Lord your God, am in control."
We must let
Him be in charge. Let Jesus be Lord of our circumstances, our worries, our problems; our joys and successes as well. Share them with Him, take the time to pray over these things with Him, talk to Him
about them, listen to Him, and meditate on what His Word offers us.
It wasn't
a luxury cruise that Paul was on as he sailed to Rome. He was potentially under a death sentence. He was a prisoner.
The storm wasn't just a passing wind; it was the sort of storm that had hardened sailors fearing for their lives and had atheists
on their knees praying to unknown gods, the sort that caused ships to crumble before the merciless pounding of its waves.
It was in that situation that…
"Paul took some bread, gave thanks to God before them all, broke it, and began to eat. They took heart, and every one
of them also ate some food."
The phrase
"They took heart" is one of those Greek words that it is hard to give the exact English equivalent for. It appears in Hebrew
form in the Book of Proverbs 15:15 which reads, "Happy people enjoy life." Not evade life or endure life, but enjoy it. It can mean "to raise your spirit up,
to be encouraged, to feel better about things, to pluck up courage and be of good cheer."
That's what
happened on that boat as Paul broke bread. That's what happened when he was able
to bring them from a position where all they could see was the storm of a mad, mad, world, to a position where they were able
to sense that beyond the storm was the hand of a God who hadn't abandoned them but would carry them through the wreck they
were about to be faced with.
Today people
will be breaking bread in the midst of many stormy situations, many places where things will get worse before they get better. But as they break bread and share wine they will be encouraged for they will remember
there is a God who is greater than the storm.
We join with
them around our communion table. We are not alone. We are in the company of friends and brothers and sisters who form a chain of prayer and hope that circles
and criss-crosses the mad, mad world. We are in the company of angels and the company of saints, a vast crowd of unseen witnesses
who testify that there is a safe haven beyond the storm.
All I want to say to you this morning is this: Remember Paul and how he broke bread in the midst of a storm.
Remember how that simple action brought those who participated in it to the presence of God and lifted them to His presence.
Now it's your turn.
Break Bread, Drink wine.
Take courage, Take heart.
For the love of Jesus Christ
Is greater than the storm.
