Daily Liturgy and Scripture

Paul serves a God of wholeness, and that is on display when he is shipwrecked. All those with Paul are saved, the snakebite doesn't harm Paul, and the sick are healed. There are many ways to come into an understanding of the Gospel, but seeing that which is broken made whole isn't far from what Jesus did for our world.

Paul seems to be moving in the purposes of God, but he also doesn't seem to be able to bypass a good I-told-you-so moment. Nobody is perfect, even saints. Nonetheless, he is moving in a specific direction, toward Rome, where only God knows the purposes that he would take part in fulfilling.

A couple times, we've heard it mentioned that Paul could have been freed if he had not appealed to Caesar. Perhaps in this scene, we get an idea of why. He bluntly says that he wants Agrippa to believe as he does. Whatever seeds were being planted on that day, it does seem strategic by Paul.

The process against Paul isnt' exactly following the rules. The charges brought against him don't meet the criteria of a government trial, so Paul is stuck in the middle. It's an unusual place to be, and it must have been an extremely difficult period for Paul.

Paul languishing away seems to be a waste of one of the greatesst apostles, but his influence with Rome appears to be steady. He isn't thrown away as a common criminal, but remains connected to leadership. We will never know what came of it, but it's hard to imagine the influence of one so pivotal not bringing the foundation for the Church to come in the place from which it would later radiate.

If you find yourself concocting lies to win a case, you might be on the wrong side. Such was the case with the argument brought against Paul, whose rebuttal was to use the truth.

Andrew is a pretty interesting guy. He started as an apostle of John, then moved over to Jesus, and brought his brother along for the ride. His brother became one of the most recognized leaders in the early church. It all started with that invitation, though, and the course of Church history was forever changed.

Ecclesiasticus says that God will raise up the right leader for the right time, and Paul seems to be among some Roman leaders who are at least agreeable to keeping him alive. Rome was actually agreeable to multiple religions, and they were disagreeable to the disorder caused by trying to uproot the religion of another. Those factors were working together to keep Paul on the job, and the early church continued to grow.

Leave it to Paul to use the division of the Law against those who were causing division. The dispute between the Pharisees and the Sadducees was a pretty bold move, and it may have saved his neck a little longer.

Paul is facing an angry crowd, egged on by the teachers of the Law. He decided to try and tell the amazing story of his conversion, but it doesn't work. They remained livid. The gospel really is found in peace, because it belongs to the Prince of Peace. The fury of an angry crowd works against that prince.