The Way To Rome Is Through Malta

Sermon by Mark Johnson of Steiger Minneapolis

Acts 27:1-44 describes the first part of Paul’s journey to Rome.  Luke was apparently there for this experience, because he tells the story in first person, with lots of detail.  Luke tells us that it’s past the time of year when people could generally sail safely in the Mediterranean.  And Paul tells Julius, the commander, that it’s a bad idea to sail, but Julius decides to listen to the captain of the ship instead of Paul, who is a rabbi not a sailor. 

They’re on a boat carrying grain—probably wheat—and the ship is big enough to hold 276 people.  This includes the crew, guards, and prisoners, who are probably being taken to Rome for the games (where they will be killed).  Luke and Aristarchus are also along with Paul, as friends and companions. 

When they start out, the weather is nice and things are going well.  But then a huge storm comes up—with hurricane force winds.  They have no control at all.  Luke says that the crew starts losing hope.  This is a fourteen-day storm—with wind, rain, no sun, no stars—and it just keeps going.  It goes on for so long that they start praying for daylight, because as their hope starts to leave, they yearn for light.  Then they even throw their cargo overboard, because in a storm, you throw out stuff you don’t totally need.

But in the midst of this storm, an angel comes and speaks to Paul.  And he tells Paul not to be afraid.  Now, normally when someone says not to be afraid, it’s because the person they’re talking to is afraid!  This would make sense, because Paul is in this huge storm, and it looks like he’s going to die.  So the angel says not to be afraid.  Paul then tries to encourage the crowd with the story, but he can’t do it without reminding them that he had said they shouldn’t sail in the first place.  Maybe it’s to reinforce his authority so they listen to him more in the future, but it’s also really hard not to say, “Told you so” in a situation like that.  It’s kind of comforting to know that even the great apostle Paul, who wrote the Bible, said, “Told you so.”

So they eventually run the ship aground on a sand bar, and they all survive.  There is an island very nearby called Malta, and they get to shore either by swimming or hanging onto planks and pieces of the ship.  This is a historical event; it really happened.  There is a bay on Malta called St. Paul’s Bay.

I always like to ask why a story is in the Bible.  And the big picture of this chapter is that God is faithful.  But I think that we also need to realize that sometimes the path to Rome goes through Malta. 

See, Paul had a vision of going to Rome and of preaching there.  God put that on his heart, and he would bring it about.  But the path there goes through Malta and includes a shipwreck.  I don’t think Paul’s itinerary for his trip to Rome included being in chains, having a shipwreck, and hanging onto a plank just trying to survive.  God puts stuff in our hearts—like what is supposed to happen and who we’re supposed to be—and the kernel of that is Kingdom of God stuff.  But the path to all that happening can include suffering.

If I make the design of my life, it’s going to be the path of least resistance.  Maybe my idea about life includes a kernel of getting to Rome, which is from God, but I can add a lot of my own kingdom to it.  When we add stuff onto God’s plan, he has to cut away that fat to get at the kernel.  Sometimes when things don’t happen the way we thought, we start doubting.  I kind of wonder what Paul was thinking on day ten of the storm, when he had thought he was going to Rome but instead it looked like he was going to die.

I want to look at some of the characters in this story and see why they ended up in the storm.  I think there is something to be learned from each of them.

First there’s Julius.  He is in the storm because he didn’t listen to Paul.  Sometimes we go through difficult times because we refuse to listen to the wisdom around us.  And some people stay stuck in the storm for a long time because they refuse to listen to wisdom.  They keep making the same choices, so nothing changes, and they stay in the storm.  Making the same bad choices over and over again will eventually kill you.  So if you look at your life, and you haven’t seen the sun for ages, it’s possible that it’s because you won’t listen to anyone, including God.

Then there are Luke and Aristarchus.  They’re there because they want to help their friend.  And you know, the angel doesn’t appear to them; he appears to Paul.  So they’re trying to help out their friend, and now they don’t know if they are going to live or die.  Sometimes when you get involved in someone’s life, you end up in the storm, too.  It can be chaotic and crazy, and you can even lose hope trying to do the right thing.  You were just loving them, and now you’re in a storm, feeling like it will never end.  If we are going to be committed to loving people and loving the places we live, we will end up in chaotic places sometimes.  Jesus gave us an amazing example of how to do that—how to live when you are in a crazy place because you love people.

Finally, there’s Paul.  He is in the storm because he is doing what God wants.  Paul suffered a lot in his life because he was doing what God wanted.  Sometimes we get the idea that God wants us to have a nice, easy life without any suffering, but that’s just not true.  Paul did what God called him to do, and he suffered.

Sometimes we’re in a storm, and we can’t see land.  It’s there, but we can’t see it.  Sometimes we’re in the middle of a crazy time, praying for light, and we need to know that there is land out there.  If you’re at a time right now where you can’t see land, you need to think about why you’re there. If you’re like Julius, you need to start listening to wisdom.  None of us have reached a point where we don’t need wisdom any more.  So if you’re there, listen.  If you’re like Luke or Paul—doing the right thing but stuck in a storm—take the angel’s advice.  Don’t be afraid.  Yes, it feels like you’re dying, but God knows you’re scared, he knows you’re in a storm, and he is with you.  Be courageous.  Courage doesn’t mean you don’t have any fear, but it means you hang onto hope and do the right thing, even though you can’t see it.

If God has given you a vision for your life, it is because that’s his desire for you, and you can trust him with it even when you can’t see it.  There really is an island nearby, and the storm won’t last forever.  So then you need to do what Paul told the people on the ship to do: Eat something.  Because you might need to swim for it.  Do what you need to do in order to be strong.  Sometimes when we’re in a storm, we withdraw from people and stop going to the Word of God.  But if we’re going to make it to the end of the storm and be strong enough to swim, we need to eat something.

Remember, too, that when we’re kicking and screaming about being in Malta, God has stuff for us to do there, and he’s going to cut away the fat we’ve added to his vision.  It is possible to get to Rome.  It may not be easy, but we can get there.  Sometimes the path to Rome just goes through Malta.