A
Communion Sermon
Text: “...he took some bread and gave thanks to God...” Acts 27.35 (NIV)
Dramatic. The story in Acts 27.
Here we have a story of a voyage across the
The boat is ready for the journey with 276
passengers, supplies of food and fresh water, and the voyage begins, out
through the islands off the coast. However, out on the open sea, the wind picks
up, and the captain
because of the worsening weather, decides to head southwards with
the wind, then head west along the south coast of
To head for Foinika, turns out to be fateful.
For as the ship rounds the point where the South Western coast of Crete turns
North West - they are hit by the full force of a driving storm. There is now no
chance of reaching Phoinika. There is now no chance of reaching anywhere - there are no
options at this moment. The captain and crew can only turn the ship and run
with the storm. The ship is directed, forced, driven by the storm to go wherever
the storm is blowing. Troubled seas have become dramatic storm
!
It’s at this point, the closer as we read the details in Acts
of this voyage, we see that the Book of Acts is saying something about human
life, Christian life, and the drama of redemption. Throughout Acts 27 there are
traces of something wider and more significant.
Life
First, life. This story of Paul’s
voyage says something about human life itself
You see the whole situation itself, in all its
drama - is very much like life itself.
Sometimes, the journey of life can often be
like that voyage, we are driven along, at the mercy of circumstances, battered by
events, the way ahead becomes dark.
But Acts
27 also gives us a picture of Christian life.............too
It’s there in the example of Paul, look at
him, v. 22 and 23, as he stands on deck.. He says to
those around him - the angel of the Lord
stood by me.... this night, and said, Do not be afraid, - do not be afraid - I trust God
Here, on the deck of the ship, with its storm
bound, storm driven passengers
- is Paul. Unafraid, strong.
Why ? What is this the source of Paul’s wonderful
strength and peace ? The source of Paul’s strength and
peace lies in his fellowship with Jesus Christ – lies in the fact that Christ
is with him. That presence of Christ with him, which has run through Paul’s life , from the day Jesus met him on the road to Damascus,
Christ who was with him in the baying, jeering, angry crowds in Ephesus, Christ who was with him in the stillness of
that prison in Philippi, with him on the rain soaked, cold mountain roads of
northern, now as shipwreck looms, Christ is with him, Christ who is all in all.
The source of Paul’s courage and inner peace. The ship
might be drifting, but not Paul. Paul’s anchor holds. In Christ, the Saviour,
once crucified, now risen - to whom all power has been
given that’s where Paul’s anchor is............
Dear friends, that is
where our anchor is, in Jesus Christ. For Christ has anchored us in Himself,
the Saviour once crucified for us, now risen, and all power has been given to
Him....... and we are in His divine care.
Towards the close of Acts chapter 27, we have
reached the point where the ship has been driven across the
Though it is pitch dark, the sailors, with
their sailing and sea experience born of years under the mast know, that somewhere
near, there is a coast - to one side or in front of them. How do they know ? It could be the change in the wave patterns round the
ship, it could be the smell of the air, or the birds skimming past over the
waves, or perhaps even the faint echo and re-echo of the waves on a shore
somewhere a mile, two miles, three miles away. But the soundings, they take
tell their own story ..... the
line goes down 20 fathoms, 15 fathoms.. The captain gives the orders to throw
out four anchors aft........to slow the ship.
But once again, in Acts 27, we catch a glimpse
of the deepest things, written here in the book of Acts. As the soundings come
in more and more rapidly, Paul, we are told, took bread, gave thanks to God...
and when he had broken it, he began to eat......
now if we know our Bible
at all, this can hardly fail to fascinate us.......
If we read in Luke’s gospel, we will find that
these are almost exactly the same words Luke uses to describe the Last
Supper....... where Jesus took bread, gave thanks to God and broke it.
Here is Paul, in the last moments before the
stunning, shaking, judder as the ship hits the rocks, takes bread, giving
thanks to God,
breaks it and eats.....
Now this is a very different situation from
the Upper Room and the Last Supper. But is this not a perfect picture of communion ?
In the midst of the storm, the darkness, with
the future all uncertain, Paul takes bread, gives thanks, breaks the bread and
eats.
the bread of life. That
is what Jesus invites us to do this morning,
in the midst of this troubled storm tossed world,
to take the Bread He
offers, break it and eat together.........
and find in the Bread He sets
before us this morning food for our very souls,
For when we reach out and receive the Bread
and take it to ourselves, at the invitation of our Lord Jesus, we reach out
receive the life that He offers us,
eating the Bread, we take
Him to ourselves
and so we are nourished,
and fed with the Bread of Life Himself
Come to Him, Christ, the Bread of Life
Come to Him and find that through
His life you are nourished and strengthened,
rooted and
established,
Come to Him and find the deepest
needs and longings in your own lives are met in Him
The Bread of Life, Jesus Christ Himself……..
the Father’s gift to
us……..
Paul, we read, in the last moments before the
stunning, shaking, judder as the ship hits the rocks, takes bread, giving
thanks to God, and eats...........
But lastly, though this is a story of
shipwreck, it is not a story of disaster and loss. As the living God had promised
Paul, not one of the ship’s company is lost, not one
is lost. There is indeed a stunning, shaking, judder and then fearful noise of
splitting timbers as the ship hits the rocks but no one perishes, all of the
company come to shore....... and are to be found safe, secure on land from the
driving storm.........
This is, this is a story of redemption, a
story of salvation ?
Maybe Paul was thinking of the ship’s company,
and that night
when he wrote to the
Church at
“you were without hope....... ”
far away from rescue, far
out at sea, but
“Now”, declares Paul, “in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have
been brought near by the death of Christ”
Just as that ship’s company were saved,
despite the destruction of the ship,
the gospel message
declares that God has acted decisively to save us, at the Cross.
At the Cross, our sin was laid on Jesus Christ,
and He has taken it away once and for all.. The sin
and guilt that burdens our hearts, and keeps us far away from God, has been
dealt with once and for all at the Cross, through the Lamb of God who takes
away the sin of the world, our sins included, we are brought near, brought into
the presence of the Holy God, secure, saved.
That is what Jesus invites us to do this
morning,
in the midst of this troubled storm tossed world,
to take the Cup He
offers, to drink of it together.........
and find in the Cup He
sets before us this morning cleansing forgiveness for our very souls. For when
we reach out and receive the Cup and take it to ourselves, at the invitation of
our Lord Jesus, we reach out receive the life that He offers us. Receiving the
Cup, we take to ourselves His death on the Cross
and so our burdens are
lifted, our sin forgiven,
and we are brought into
the presence of the Holy God, secure.
Saved.
AMEN.