Saturday of the 7th Week of Easter 2024
If you have been following the readings from the Acts of the Apostles every day in our service, it looks like Paul appealed to Caesar yesterday and magically he is entering Rome today. That’s because we left off on chapter 25 yesterday and opened up to the middle of chapter 28 today. In the meantime, much has happened. Paul defended himself in the presence of King Agrippa and Berenice, in Caesarea Maritima, on the Mediterranean coast. And once more, we hear the story of Paul’s persecution of Christians, his conversion by the glorified Jesus, and the famous like from Christ: “it hurts you to kick against the goads.” Funny–Paul as a feisty mule.
King Agrippa heard him out and his judgement was clear: “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
So off to Rome goes Paul, with Luke and some other prisoners and centurion Julius. It was not an express shipment. Ultimately they made the south coast of Crete, but the sailing season was shutting down. Paul told them not to try for Italy, but the sailors ignored him since they’d make more money if they succeeded than if they spent the winter in Crete. A northeaster storm grabbed them and they threw everything except the people overboard to lighten the boat. Eventually they ran aground at Malta. Paul survived a serpent’s bite and ultimately arrives by a new boat in Rome. It is a wild three chapters, but is an example of God’s providence working in the life of Paul and the Church. It had taken the better part of a year to get from Judea to Rome.
But while there in Rome, he defended his mission to the Jewish congregation. It had reformed during the rule of Nero, of all emperors, and seems here to have recovered some vigor. He must have made some converts there, and surely had some friends because we have his earlier letter to the Roman church. Moreover, for two full years it looks like the entire Praetorian guard rotated through his house, one legion member at a time. What a privilege each had, to live with Paul at his best. Then, abruptly, Luke concludes his account. This must have been early in the decade of the sixties, because we know from other sources that Paul probably evangelized in Spain and then was brought back to Rome to be tried and executed before Nero killed himself and ended his reign of terror that also took the life of St. Pater.
Then, speaking of Peter, we heard in the Gospel the dialogue between him and the risen Jesus about the disciple most scholars identify as John. John was the last of the original apostles to die, and the only one who was not killed for the faith, although he had years of persecution. But there are two critical things to remember about this short five verses. First, Jesus says, “what I do in the future is none of your business. Go, get to your mission.” Second, the Beloved Disciple stakes his considerable reputation on the truths taught in the Gospel of John. So we need to read and believe and make application to our lives, and get to it quickly.
