Tuesday - August 13, 2024

SCRIPTURE

Acts 23:12-18

The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. More than forty men were involved in this plot. They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”

But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.

Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.” So he took him to the commander. 

WORDS OF HOPE

When reading the story in this passage about the plot to kill Paul, the most striking detail is that there are forty men intent on killing Paul, so much so that they have taken an oath to deny themselves food until they have accomplished their goal. The assumption here is that they expect to kill Paul sooner rather than later and spare themselves hunger and its discomfort. Like with any good story, the drama of these things sucks the reader in almost immediately. But, who is the most important character here? Whose actions most affect the outcome of this story? 

It is not the Jews who wanted Paul dead or Paul himself. It is not the elders who made up the Sanhedrin. Rather, it is “the son of Paul’s sister,’ his nephew, who is the character whose role directs the course of action. In so doing, the lesson of the passage becomes clear. It is about courage, the courage of a young man to speak up for Paul, and by so doing, potentially jeopardizing his own life. The willingness to protect the lives of others despite the danger that may ensue to you personally is a mark of true courage.

I was writing this devotion while on a cruise through the Mediterranean. At this point in the writing, I left to go eat dinner and enjoy the evening’s entertainment. My plan was to find a quiet spot afterwards to finish my thoughts. As is often the case with our plans, things did not work out.

At around 9:30pm, our ship’s captain came on the PA system and announce that he had received a distress call about a sailboat with 60-70 persons onboard and we would be diverting from our scheduled route to render aid. Our cruise ship got as close to the powerless sailboat as we could and then deployed a lifeboat and a smaller rescue boat. After more than an hour, the lifeboat towed the sailboat back toward our ship. Once we could see the passengers on the sailboat, it became clear that it was filled with refugees. We later learned there were seventy-seven people onboard, ranging in age from young children to elderly. I heard many desperate cries from that boat. ‘Please! I have something to tell you.’ ‘Take my babies or I will jump.” Ultimately, those seventy-seven people were taken onboard our ship. They were kept isolated from both passengers and the majority of our ship’s crew. They were given necessities and some medical care by appointed crew members. The catch with being brought onboard was that they had to leave behind all their few personal belongings.

There was a sense of relief once all of these people were safe. The next part of the story, however, was a bit surreal to watch. Our rescue crew spray-painted “ABANDONED” on both sides of the sailboat. The lifeboat then towed the sailboat away into the dark night…and released the tow rope, sending the boat adrift into the Mediterranean Sea. 

The refugees were onboard our boat until the middle of the next morning when the Greek Coast Guard met us off the shore of Kalamata, Greece and tendered the seventy-seven people safely to land.

As I write this, I have not really even begun to process this whole experience, but I can say that the courage and compassion shown by the entire Royal Caribbean crew and staff throughout was extraordinary. The crew that left in the lifeboat to render aid to the refugee vessel was much like Paul’s nephew. They had no idea whether they would be met with aggression or gratitude. Their lives were in jeopardy from many places, but saving those other humans was most important to them. 

They did their job with courage. Once everyone was safely onboard, the Royal Caribbean staff provided the refugees with food, water, medical care, and a place to rest for the night.  They were all confined to a small space with seventy-seven people whose physical and mental state was unknown. The ship’s staff met their task with not only courage but also compassion and respect. 

In these twelve hours, God showed me firsthand one of the lessons given to us in the above passage from Acts—how powerful the gift of courage is. As I unpack having witnessed this entire experience, I’m sure I will have many more thoughts and things learned. For now, this is enough to digest. I will do my best to live each day with such courage and pray that I do it with as much grace.

PRAYER

O God, the great teacher, continue to teach me those things that will grow my faith and build my courage to live that faith every day. I give thanks for these lessons and the courage of those through whom you call to share in your teaching. Amen

DEVOTION AUTHOR

Kris Baker

Order of St. Francis and St. Clare