It’s that time of year again
when many of us are thinking about our summer holidays; where we’re going…what
we need to take… and how we’re going to get there. In my household getting
myself, my husband and four sons packed up and ready for a journey is no mean
feat I can tell you!
Did you know that more
journeys take place in the book of Acts than anywhere else in the Bible? Bruce
did a great job last week of highlighting on his map all the geographical
comings-and-goings of Paul’s previous expedition; isn’t it a shame that Paul didn’t
have the chance to earn ‘air miles’? Bruce explained how, as part of his second
trip, Paul has now come to a place called Philippi.
So what’s Paul got packed
in his suitcase? Well along with his Greek guide book and first aid kit (which
he’s going to need) he’s carrying the Christian message which is being taken from
the rural, Palestinian environment of Jesus to the largely urban world of the
Greek cities in the Roman Empire. Some passages suggest that Luke, the author
of Acts, joins the travelling group for at least some of the time on a journey
that will eventually weave all the way to Rome; a trip that involves sharing
their precious cargo with those they meet along the way.
I don’t know how many of
you watched the recent adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Lady Vanishes’ on
BBC1, a drama that involves the overlapping stories of strangers on a train
journey. Paul’s encounter with the female slave echoes this; two strangers
whose paths cross with dramatic consequences angering those whose selfish plans
are scuppered in the process. As a writer Luke was definitely one for exotic
settings and adventurous plots too! Paul’s experience here is rather like Jesus’
in the gospels with spirits yelling out in recognition of God’s power. Of
course when we hear the words ‘…the
Most High God’ we don’t start imagining Zeus or other local gods like those who
were there would have done and to them the word ‘salvation’ would have meant ‘rescue’,
‘health’ or ‘prosperity’ and not what it means to us today. This probably explains
why Paul isn’t thrilled about all the shouting, even if what the slave says is actually
true. He understands the potential for misunderstanding among those whose
perception of the supernatural is culturally very different. Although the
version of the Bible that we’re looking at today says that Paul is ‘annoyed’
other versions talk about him being ‘troubled’ or ‘grieved’ which suggest
compassion for the slave rather than just irritation at the spirit within her.
My oldest son likes to
watch the BBC’s ‘Watchdog’ programme with its ‘Rogue Traders’ side-line. The
formidable Anne Robinson heads up the team who are out to expose those who
exploit others for their own gain….and boy are some of those people angry when
the secret cameras catch up with them and blow their dodgy operations out of
the water! The slave owners are furious too, Paul has exorcised their means of
income as well as the evil spirit and they aren’t about to let him get away
with it. Although their motivation is commercial the slave owners cleverly tap
into a deep-rooted prejudice against the adoption of foreign religious customs
by Roman citizens and the stage is set for a scene of civic melodrama and
violence. Unlike Alfred Hitchcock who terrified his audiences by building up
the psychological tension in his films before depicting the violence, Luke’s account
of what happens is brief and factual. However
let’s not underestimate the severity of the bloodshed here as Paul and Silas
are severely flogged and beaten by a mob wielding rods, it’s definitely on an
(18) film certificate scale rather than a (PG)!
And so their day’s journey
which starts with them travelling peacefully to pray ends with them being
thrown into prison battered, bleeding and dreadfully wounded. As writer Mike
Pilavachi says ‘Christians have bumper stickers and catch phrases, believers
have creeds and promises, disciples have scars and stories’.
When I was a student I was
fortunate enough to be accepted into my University Air Squadron; learning to
fly the RAF’s small training planes. If we were in the right place at the right
time we could sometimes get invited on to other trips and I once managed to
hitch a ride on a Nimrod flight over the Atlantic. It was very exciting; the
fast jets were blowing things up in the water and we were there providing sonar
assistance. Being in the cockpit to
watch the air-to-air re-fuelling was an unforgettable moment in my life; it is
amazing to be that close to another plane in mid-flight!
I have come to understand
prayer this way; on our journeys we need God, through His Holy Spirit, to re-fuel
us. We need to get to the space and altitude where we can meet up and connect
with Him and as people with different personalities we’ll do this in a variety
of ways. Re-fuelling takes time and two-way communication, it can’t be rushed
and it needs to be a priority. There are only so many miles we can travel
before the fuel runs out and then we’re in trouble! When I’ve hit bad weather
in my own life and I’ve wobbled and been fearful that I might fall out of the
sky I have imagined God’s re-fuelling plane with me topping me up and enabling me
to fly on.
In the belly of a dark
prison, restrained and terribly injured Paul and Silas, praying and singing
hymns to God, seek to be re-fuelled; flying above their current circumstances
they radio the God who they know will come alongside and fill them up to cope
with the bad weather that’s descended. And as often happens with the God who is
bigger and more powerful than we can understand he changes the weather as well and
the earthquake hits…
The jailor is on a journey
too…his emotions travel from calm, to fear, to panic, to relief and eventually
to joy but when he says ‘What must I do to be saved?’ he isn’t asking for a ‘detailed
exposition of justification by grace through faith’…no, his first century understanding
of salvation is very different to ours. As a wise bishop once said to the
Theologian NT Wright it might not be a word-for-word translation but ‘will you
please tell me how I can get out of this mess?’ may better reflect the sense of
the jailor’s frantic question. Paul and Silas take the question they are asked
and they deepen it, we have part of their answer but the implication is that
they spend time talking to the jailor and his household about the Christian
message they are carrying. They have a cargo they want to share at every
opportunity, a gift that the jailor and his household accept with joy as they start
their own journeys of faith with God that night.
If our Acts reading were made
into a film what a wonderful closing scene it would have; maybe we wouldn’t ask
Alfred Hitchcock to direct it! A heart-warming sight that reflects the prayer
in our gospel reading; a scene of unity brought about through the giving and
receiving of the Christian message…a harmony that reflects the unity between
the Father and the Son. ‘In John’s gospel the Word undertakes a cosmic journey
from the Father’s presence to earth. The word becomes flesh, fulfils His
father’s mission and returns to God’ and in a way that is hard for us to fully
comprehend we are invited to become part of that…Jesus being the ultimate
bridge that links us to the Father.
Having the Christian
message packed in our suitcases is an awesome responsibility and sharing it can
take courage. For some of our brothers and sisters around the world even
carrying it can be very costly. Paul and Silas illustrate beautifully that
whilst our journeys may take difficult and unexpected turns for the worse we
can rely on a God who is always with us wherever we are. When Paul and Silas are
praying and singing in prison they don’t know what’s coming next. Unlike many in
their day and in ours, they don’t look to fortune-tellers to seek hope that a
situation will change or to pursue answers to the unknown…they simply seek to
be re-fuelled by God for the journey ahead…wherever that may lead.
Discussion starters
1. Are you carrying the Christian message in your
suitcase through your journey of life; is it easily accessible or is it hidden
away at the bottom where you don’t get it out very much?
2. Do you spend time being re-fuelled by God; how do you
do this?
3. Paul and Silas were able to sing and pray despite
their difficult circumstances; how do you react when suffering comes?
4. The other prisoners listened to Paul and Silas in
prison and didn’t run away after the earthquake; how do your actions (as
individuals and as a church) impact those around you?
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