Stormy Weather

Sermon Acts 27:13-26 August 30, 2015 Ordinary Time

Stormy Weather

We arrive at this Scripture text in the middle of a sea story. It’s part two of Paul’s final journey to Rome. It’s the part where the travelers encounter stormy weather. We really had to go back to the beginning of the chapter to figure out what was going on in the first place.

I’ve put a map in your bulletin because the details of this story include telling geographic places in the manner of entries into a ships log. Because Luke offers these details we the readers of the 21^st century can imagine the transportation routes of these early centuries. Recognizing the distinctive features of this voyage provides the opportunity to understand the realistic drama facing the Paul and the travelers.

Paul is still a prisoner as he heads to Rome on this ship. He is determined to have his day in court before Caesar.

I must say this story has a great deal more meaning to me now that Mike and I have spent some time sailing in the same waters described here. A small detail shared in the beginning of the chapter shows how they got underway. The trade routes on the Mediterranean have been around for 6000 years of known history. By the time Paul was traveling there was a sophisticated system of sea travel. There were passenger ferry boats that transported people short distances and cargo ships for longer distances. As we read, they booked passage on a larger ship to get to Rome. The bigger the ship the faster the hull speed. Not much has changed on the Med since then. People and cargo are still traveling distances via ferry boats and cargo ships. The distance of Paul’s travels described in this section is not just a ride up the road but is about 900 nautical miles. There weren’t engines in the ships to facilitate travel nor were there thrusters to keep the ships on course. They were faced with severe head winds making travel difficult if not impossible to point in the direction of their destination which is why they were being pushed out away from the coastline and further out to sea. We have been told by seasoned sailors there that the winds begin to pick up in July and increase steadily over the following months so that by fall it is not advisable to travel. During Paul’s time shipping lanes to Rome were shut down in the winter.

Paul notes the weather and warns the sailors to stay put and plan to winter where they are. But they preferred to risk going ahead to a more suitable port to winter. And this is where our verses come in today.

Their plan was to sail a short distance to a more favorable place. These experienced sailors figured they could do it. If you look at the map, it doesn’t seem like a distance impossible to travel. As a matter of fact it seems quite probable in favorable conditions. These sailors didn’t like the port they were at and didn’t want to be stuck there for three months. Perhaps the restaurants there were crummy or the shopping and entertainment lousy. Whatever the reason, they wanted to get to Phoenix just a short sail away, you know maybe about a day’s sail, not too hard to do.

However, what happened with the storm and the weather was they were blown completely off course. The winds got hold of their boat-and because they were sailing against the prevailing winds, they couldn’t keep the bow into it and they lost complete control. If you look at the map again, they were afraid of the ship ending up on the coast of Africa. They did what they could to keep it headed in the direction they wanted to go. *Their miscalculation of the weather caused them to be caught out at sea for hundreds of miles and for weeks. You see where they ended up shipwrecked, yes, way over there on Malta, not just down the coast of Crete. There is an enormous statue of Paul on the shores of Malta marking the spot where they believe the ship ran aground.

SO, here these poor sailors are sapped of energy, of hope and of strength as they try to keep the ship afloat. They are hungry and truly suffering from the effects of the storm.

Paul shares his faith in the midst of this hopelessness. He trusts God as the one who saves and delivers in all circumstances. He trusts God that God’s plans will happen even when human and nature try to interfere. He shares his faith with a people who declare no faith. He encourages them with words of grace. He lets them know that the God of grace is the one who saves all people.

Sometimes a story is just a story. It is just a narrative account of the life and ministry of Paul. It is an insight into the practical ways of living in the first century. And I think it can help us a little in the practical everyday way we do things. Because, we can learn a little about knowing something of the essentials in the storm.

o   Check all your equipment before the storm

-if it works, then you know you are ready.

Mike and I have a checklist that we use before we ever set sail to make sure our boat is safe and in order before we do anything. I wonder if we could be that vigilant about how we live on shore, if that could make a difference.

o   Heed the weather forecast warnings!

-no cargo is worth losing

-some risks should not be taken

-sometimes delays are meant to be

(We are seamen understand what being in delivery mode can do to a sailor. We are so focused on getting there and making it on time that we lose all sense of judgment.) Therefore,

-Do not function in delivery mode because it will cloud your judgment.

o   Stay calm in the middle of the storm

-Stick with what you know-which means practice, practice, practice before you go. You can’t get up and reef the main in the middle of a storm if you haven’t done it several times in calm weather.

-Don’t panic…don’t let fear rule. When fear takes over there is no amount of skill that will save your vessel. Fear paralyzes and you can’t have that in a storm.

-pull together

-remember your goal

-have hope…take hope

In the stormy weather, even if it could have been avoided, Paul offers words of encouragement. 

And perhaps that’s what we all need every once in a while. 

• Perhaps we could use words of encouragement even during the times when we know or discover we’ve made the wrong choices. 
• Perhaps we need to be reminded that God still saves us and cares for us when we’ve put ourselves in the middle of troubling circumstances. 
• Perhaps we need to be brought alongside someone who has undeniable faith and strong positive words for us during the times when we are losing everything we own.
• Perhaps that’s what this story is about; the chance for us to see a person who is held captive by the world use his freedom in Christ to witness to the power of God to pull all things together for the sake of all people.

Keep up the courage, God’s promises are sure and true. Amen.

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