Acts 27: winds, storms and shipwrecks - four reactions

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 Acts 27 - read the passage here.

If there's one overarching theme that the last 8 chapters of Acts have, it's to tell the story of how God brought about his plan to bring the gospel to Rome, and this instalment of events is no different, as we see a ship full of people saved against all odds from shipwreck, in part enabled by Paul's confidence in God's plan.

But what of the other reactions to the difficulties they faced.  I have pulled out three very varied responses, all found in this chapter, here:

1)  Trusting in your own strength

The start of the voyage was slow because the wind was against them, meaning that they had not reached their destination by the time winter was approaching.  (Luke refers to the fact that 'the Fast' or 'Day of Atonement' had passed (Acts 27:9) - the significance of this comment is not spiritual but seasonal, the event falling in the seventh month of the year, leading up to winter).  Paul advises them to stop and winter in the harbour in which they have found safety, but that does not suit the plans of those in command (Acts 27:10-12) - they want to carry on regardless.

I'm reminded of my response to Storm Eunice earlier this year (which I reflected on here) - the arrogance of people that we consider ourselves masters over all creation, strong enough to withstand all its force and manipulate it to our will.  God's law does not encourage such an attitude - from the Sabbath rest for our benefit (Exodus 20:8-11) Mark 2:27) to the Sabbath year that benefits the land (Exodus 23:10-11), we are not masters over creation.  We don't know the creeds or worldviews of those in command of the ship, but we might ponder if the Roman Centurion in charge of the prisoners subscribed to the apparent Roman vision of progress and triumph over nature.  Mark the contrast between this and the attitudes of Jesus' disciples when he calmed the storm - their certainty that they were doomed and then the amazed pronouncement - even the wind and waves obey him (Mark 4:35-41).

2) Losing hope

The voyage did not go according to plan, and the ship's crew and passengers soon found themselves in the middle of a storm so dark that they could not even tell day from night, where all hope of...being saved was at last abandoned (Acts 27:20).  Later in the passage, we learn that the people have stopped eating, torn between suspense and despair (Acts 27:33).

However, Paul's response is that hope is not lost, for he knows God's plan. He tells the people: For this very night there stood before 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 Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ (Acts 27:23-24).

We are not always privy to God's specific plans (in fact, I might even venture to suggest that most of us never receive such specific knowledge about God's plans this side of Heaven), but there are promises to which we can all put our hope.  The first is the hope of the resurrection - that even when we succumb to death in this world, we are called to eternal life with him.  The second is the knowledge that God is working out a plan for his glory here on earth - for we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).  We may not know what the plan is, but we know there is one - the setbacks and sufferings we face are not meaningless, and even if they originate from the wickedness in this world, from other people or from Satan himself, God is still able to work through them.  It doesn't make them painless or diminish the fact that many things happen are not God's design, but it does mean they are not in vain.

3) Running away

Having set sail again the ship's crew had no option but to keep going and put all efforts into keeping the ship from being wrecked.  However, when the opportunity came, the sailors tried to take their opportunity to cut loose (literally) and save themselves by taking the boat, main ship being at risk of being run onto rocks and destroyed.

The thing is, if there is no God and no plan for eternity, there are situations like this where saving yourself when all hope is gone is the logical thing to do.  There are so many times in film and television where protagonists find themselves in impossible situations: it seems inevitable they'll have to initiate the self-destruct sequence, sacrifice someone to save others, or abandon friends, but they hold out, and everything comes right in the end.  But sometimes I think to myself: but things have only come right because there's another series to go and more money to be made!  It's not actually proof that if you hold out then everything will always come right and you won't have to sacrifice your friends.

But if we have the hope that we talked about under the last heading, we don't have to abandon ship and abandon honour - not because we're in a TV series and we've signed a contract that means there are more episodes to come, but because we have hope that there is still meaning in our actions, that God has a plan, and that our story will continue - even if in eternity with God.

4)  Sacrifice those considered less worthy

As we near the end of the chapter, we find that the ship and it's inmates finally run aground, land is near and safety within swimming distance (Acts 27:39-44).  However, they now feel that if they abandon the ship, they are faced with the flight risk of the prisoners, and so plan to kill them.  It is only the actions of the Roman Centurion, who is keen to save Paul, which prevents them from doing so.  

Jesus does not consider people beyond hope, reaching out to, calling and ministering criminals and those considered more obviously morally dubious, and each person made in the image of God.  In this situation, those involved needed to trust God's plan and judgement.

So there we have four very different reactions to a crisis - their power weakened by the knowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord.

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