"Communion and Encouragement"

Readings: Psalm 33:12-22, Genesis 15:1-6, Luke 12:32-40, Acts 27:27-44
Preached at Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, July 3rd, 2022

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, where 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 amid 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 everyone 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 fishers 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 produced 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. 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. 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. 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 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, 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 a 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, I 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, 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, "Paul took some bread, gave thanks to God before them all, broke it, and began to eat. They took heart, and everyone of them also ate some food"

That phrase there, "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 amid 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, brothers, and sisters who form a chain of prayer and hope that circles and crisscrosses 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 during 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.

The Reverend Adrian J. Pratt B.D.