By Kate Murphy
The bedraggled sailors find themselves washed ashore the island of Malta, where the islanders show them “unusual kindness,” building a fire to welcome and warm them. As he helps to gather the firewood, Paul is bitten by a poisonous snake.
The natives turn on Paul, certain that anyone who escapes drowning only to die by snake bite must be a murderer condemned by the goddess of Justice. But incredibly, Paul doesn’t drop dead and they change their minds again. Surviving the poison must mean he is a god. When Paul begins praying and healing the sick, this impression is confirmed.
While we know that Paul is neither murderer nor god, we’re not so different from our Malta cousins. We too seek to find meaning in our fate. We see some people enjoying wealth and success, and we assume God is rewarding them for special righteousness. We see others suffering — battling cancer, enduring long prison sentences, searching fruitlessly for a job — and we secretly suspect they must have done something terribly wrong. We know better, but still these false theologies color our judgment, strengthen our suffering and limit our ministry.
So it’s worth pointing out again: bad things happen to good people and vice versa. Paul’s faithfulness led to his imprisonment, torture, humiliation and death. We cannot look at the circumstances of people and extrapolate their faithfulness. It was when Paul was most powerful and successful that he was farthest from God. It was in his moments of weakness and humiliation that he followed Jesus most closely.
When we live in the Kingdom of God, we must remember that things are often not as they appear. We must be willing to be misunderstood and misjudged by people in order to be faithful to God’s call.
- How do you make sense of suffering? Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Why do the wicked prosper?
- While Paul was faithful to God, he appeared to be a blasphemer in the eyes of many. Has your faithfulness ever been misunderstood? Have you ever misjudged someone else?
- What other details did you notice in today’s reading?
Prayer: Gracious God, people must have eyes to see your Kingdom. You have given us sight; help us to rejoice in your goodness. Amen.
