The Monday after the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany of our Lord
Posted on February 3, 2025 by under
Scripture: Acts 28:1-6 (NKJV)
28:1 Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta. 2 And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold. 3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. 4 So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” 5 But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.
Devotion
The people of Malta were not believers in Christ, but rather believers in “eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.” They believed in an over-arching justice that would ensure good behavior was rewarded and bad was punished. But even though they knew Paul was a prisoner, they showed him and the other survivors of the shipwreck great kindness. Perhaps it was the Maltese view that Paul may be innocent after all, since he survived both the storm and the shipwreck. Their thinking changed when Paul was bitten by a viper that was driven out from the burning wood. “So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, ‘No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.’”
When Paul did not die or show any ill effects, they changed direction again and declared him to be a god. Providentially for the Maltese, in the months that followed they would learn far more about Paul and his calling from the true God. May we always shun our human tendency to construct a theology of our own making, and follow what God Himself declares to be true.
Collect: Almighty God, Who knowest us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright: Grant to us such strength and protection as may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
