Notes from the Wayside: Perspective: Chaplains Courageous

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Chaplains Courageous

But when the disciples saw [Jesus] walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."

Matthew 14:26-27 (NRSV)

Things were crashing loudly
Happening all around me
But Your still small voice
Was all that I could hear

"I am here
I'm holding you
You'll make it through this
I am here; I am here"

From "Beautiful History" by Plumb

In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that, one day, the apostle Paul begins a long journey to the heart of the Roman Empire. He had been arrested and put on trial, and he would have been acquitted, but, because he requested an audience with Caesar, he must journey to Rome as a prisoner.¹

In Myra, Paul boards a ship headed for Italy, and the ship makes a stop at the port of Fair Havens on the island of Crete. At this point, a decision must be made. It is now late in the year, and Paul, who has done a great deal of traveling as a missionary, knows that to continue sailing at this time would be treacherous. He urges the centurion guarding him not to continue the voyage, but the centurion disregards Paul's warning, listening instead to the captain of the ship, who believes that they can make it to Phoenix, another port in Crete that would be a preferable place to spend the winter.²

The ship is suddenly caught in a violent tropical storm that will batter the ship for many days. The crew members do everything they can do to keep the ship from going under. They bring the lifeboat aboard the ship, secure the ship, and jettison cargo and other equipment.³

Paul, who is a prisoner aboard the ship, becomes the de facto chaplain. He says to the sailors and the soldiers,
Men, you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and thereby avoided this damage and loss. I urge you now to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For last night there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, "Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before the emperor; and indeed, God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you." So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we will have to run aground on some island.⁴

We all face "storms" of different kinds in this life. If we're honest, we have to admit that some of the difficult times we've faced could have been avoided if we had made better decisions or if we had listened to people who are wiser than we are. If we are going through a difficult time, even if we brought it upon ourselves, we can trust that God is walking with us and that God will see us through it.

At one point, the sailors aboard the ship attempt to escape in the lifeboat, pretending that they are dropping the anchors. Paul says to the centurion guarding him, "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved."⁵ There are two hundred seventy-six people aboard the ship.⁶ There are sailors, soldiers, prisoners, and presumably some other passengers. The people who are trying to abandon the ship are the people who are knowledgeable about sailing. Without them, the people remaining on the ship will have no hope for survival. The soldiers cut the ropes holding the lifeboat and allow it to float away.⁷

Our lives are intertwined with the lives of other people, whether or not we want to admit the fact. Sometimes, when we are caught in a storm in this life, other people are caught in the storm with us. We might be tempted to look for a way out, but we would do well to consider that other people just might need our help and encouragement as much as we need theirs. We are all going through this life together, so we all need to do our parts, and we can always be a source of encouragement to each other.

Two weeks have passed since the ship was caught in the storm, and, in this time, nobody has eaten anything. Still acting as chaplain, Paul says to the people aboard the ship, "Today is the fourteenth day that you have been in suspense and remaining without food, having eaten nothing. Therefore I urge you to take some food, for it will help you survive; for none of you will lose a hair from your heads." Paul then takes some bread, blesses it, and breaks it. The people aboard the ship take his advice and eat, and they begin to feel better.⁸

When we are caught in a storm in this life, we need to make sure that we are taking care of ourselves. Doing simple but necessary things like eating well, getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, exercising, and tending to our mental and emotional well-being can make a lot of difference. Our going through a difficult time can be made all the more difficult if we are not sufficiently taking care of ourselves.

When the crew of the ship is finally able to see land, they run the ship aground. The soldiers want to kill the prisoners to prevent them from escaping, but the centurion, who wants to save Paul, stops them. Though the ship is wrecked, all two hundred seventy-six people aboard the ship have survived the storm, just as Paul has repeatedly assured them.⁹

We all go through proverbial storms in this life. Some of them we bring upon ourselves, and others come through no fault of our own. We do not go through these storms by ourselves, for God is always with us. Sometimes other people are going through the same storms we are facing, and sometimes other people are going through storms of their own. If we confront these storms with hope and courage, we can be a source of comfort, help, and encouragement for each other. Sometimes life itself can seem like one big storm, but we are all in this storm together.