Hardship

“Men, I perceive this voyage is going to be with hardship and much loss, not only of the cargo and of the ship but also our lives.” – Acts 27:10

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In Acts 27 we read about the apostle Paul’s journey by ship to Rome. He had to travel by ship to Rome to stand trial before the Roman Emperor. Paul boarded the ship along with Julius, the centurion who was in charge of the prisoners. There were many on board, including Paul’s friends, Luke and Aristarchus and other prisoners.  

We read about the Apostle Paul’s traumatic ship voyage and how he and the other passengers almost all drowned in a storm.  In Acts 27: 20 we read: “ And neither the sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm pressed on us, finally all hope for us to be saved was taken away.” 

This sounds like a very hopeless situation. But even in this storm, God was with Paul, and the other passengers. This passage reminds us that even though God is with us, it does not mean that we will have no storms in our lives. We will have storms, even very bad storms, but we must always remember that God is with us, even in those terrifying times. The apostle Paul had to endure many hardships. In 2 Corinthians 11:25 we read: “Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea.” It is not possible to live this life without any trials and sufferings. 

A Scripture verse that has always comforted me in difficult times is: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). There may be circumstances in your life that you do not understand, you just can’t figure out the reason why it happened. But according to Proverbs 3:5, our understanding must come after trust. Trusting in the Lord is the foundation of our daily walk with the Lord. "For we walk by faith, not by sight" - 2 Corinthians 5:7.

Trust and hold on to God’s Word and His promises in every day, but especially in times of hardship. Our Lord Jesus calmed the stormy sea. He can calm the storms in our lives too and hold us tight. Psalm 139:9-10: “If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

Reflection on Acts 27:1 – 20 by Hanne

Adnuntiaturus | Proclaim light

“Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.” - Acts 26:19-23

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This passage is part of Saint Paul's defense before King Agrippa, a strong testimony of his work and mission, of his faith in God. It illustrates his unwavering commitment to the call he received from God. 

He begins by emphasizing that he was "not disobedient to the heavenly vision". He responded to God's calling actively, by proclaiming the message from God  from the moment he received it. The message is "that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance". It is not just a call for conversion but for transformation. Genuine repentance involves a change in behaviour, a shift that affects not just beliefs but actions as well. That is why it is so often difficult to follow, and why the teachings of Jesus are often not well-received by others. Proclaiming these teachings certainly requires courage and persistence. Living out one's faith often comes with hardship. As Paul says himself: "For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me".

Yet, we should still follow the example of Paul, who despite the danger, proclaimed boldly the Word. When we do that, we might also notice and be able to say with Paul that "I have had the help that comes from God". God is faithful and gives His grace in the midst of our trials. Even if we face opposition in our faith journey, we are not alone. God provides the strength and support we need to endure and remain faithful to His calling.

Christ’s death and resurrection give meaning and purpose to the message of repentance and all hardships on the journey of faith. It's the central truth of our faith: "the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles". This fact gives us hope and light. This is also the light and hope we are called to carry and share with others.

Reflection on Acts 26: 19-23 by Agata

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Open their eyes

"to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God" - Acts 26: 18

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Paul Defends Himself before Agrippa

¹ Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." Then Paul stretched out his hand and began to defend himself:

² "I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews, ³ because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversies of the Jews; therefore I beg of you to listen to me patiently.

⁴ "All the Jews know my way of life from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem. ⁵ They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I have belonged to the strictest sect of our religion and lived as a Pharisee. ⁶ And now I stand here on trial on account of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors, ⁷ a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship day and night. It is for this hope, your Excellency, that I am accused by Jews! ⁸ Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

⁹ "Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. ¹⁰ And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. ¹¹ By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.

Paul Tells of His Conversion

¹² "With this in mind, I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, ¹³ when at midday along the road, your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. ¹⁴ When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.' ¹⁵ I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' The Lord answered, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. ¹⁷ I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you ¹⁸ to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

Reflecting on the Scripture passage, where Paul boldly shared about his conversion experience on the road to Damascus. Despite the Jews' numerous attempts to put Paul on trial as a troublemaker, first through Felix, and subsequently Festus, who replaced Felix, until he finally stood before King Agrippa. Paul was fearless as he bore witness to the saving power of the gospel even in the face of powerful leaders who had the power to sentence him. This was because his sole focus and source of strength was in the power of the Lord to save him, and he didn't entrust his life in human hands. Mirroring what our LORD did before Pilate, who had the power to sentence him to death by crucifixion, one of Rome's most cruel punishments on condemned criminals, because in Gethsemane, our LORD had prayed the ultimate prayer of surrender to the Father:  "Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done." (Luke 22:42).

In our own Christian journey, we're bound to face fierce opposition to the gospel, and maybe even threats of violence. May we in those times of peril recall what our LORD Jesus Christ promised His disciples:  "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember what I told you: 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also…(John 15:18-20). Or in another passage, Jesus said, "I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!" (John 16:33).

May we all turn our eyes upon Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb 12:2), which is the theme of the song I've curated for this short reflection.

Turn Your Eyes

Verse1 Turn your eyes upon Jesus Look full in His wonderful face And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace Verse 2 Turn your eyes to the hillside Where justice and mercy embraced There the Son of God gave His life for us And our measureless debt was erased Chorus Jesus, to You we lift our eyes Jesus, our glory and our prize We adore You, behold You, our Savior ever true Oh Jesus, we turn our eyes to You Verse 3 Turn your eyes to the morning And see Christ the Lion awake What a glorious dawn, fear of death is gone For we carry His life in our veins Verse 4 Turn your eyes to the heavens Our King will return for His own Every knee will bow, every tongue will shout, 'All glory to Jesus alone!'

Youtube: https://youtu.be/UHHPbBfinXs?si=Odk93PHWEkrdEHuL Copyright: © 2019 Sovereign Grace Praise (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing (Integrity Music, David C Cook)) CCLI Song #167739   Reflection on Acts 26:1-18 by Chris Tan

 

Rationem reddere | Defense

Paul said in his defense, "I have in no way committed an offense against the law of the Jews, or against the temple, or against the emperor." – Acts 25:8

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Dear friends in Christ Jesus, in this Bible passage we come across Paul being falsely accused and held in custody. The Jews want to somehow get rid of Paul just like Jesus. They are trying all the possible by falsely charging against him and by arranging false witnesses against him. Paul is all left alone in his defense. Even though the Jews had many serious charges against Paul they could not prove it. God was defending Paul.

Dear friends, when we stand for God he will stand for us. We will never be left alone. The Holy Spirit helps us to speak what is necessary. Paul is very sincere and faithful in stating his innocence. Paul is a man of good conscience. He can't lie to his conscience. We also see here the courage of Paul facing the tribunal. He very openly tells that he is not even afraid to die. This kind of courage you will get only when you are with God. When we place our trust in God He looks into all our needs.

Just like Paul let us also try to gain confidence in our challenging life situations, especially when we are falsely accused or wronged. Let us also not lose our hope in such situations. Our love towards God helps us to overcome all the fear. Let us have trust and confidence in God that He will be always with me and he will never abandon me.

Reflection on Acts of the Apostles 25: 1-12 by Fr. George Joseph SVD

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