PREACHER’S NOTE 29 MAY 2022
A Surprising Thing Happened on the Way to Church
It started off as an ordinary day. Wake up, walk to early
morning prayers at the temple. In the usual bustle of the
market, a girl approaches. Paul and Silas recognise her –
she’s the slave with the talent for seeing into the future,
which makes a lot of money for her masters. Not that she
gets to see any of it, Silas remarks to Paul.
It would have been easy to ignore her, walk on, enjoy the
familiarity of the inner court, the elegance of the robes
and the furnishings, sit in their favourite seats. Let the rich
tradition of reading from the scrolls, the music, an uplifting
message wash over them, and go home blessed to start
the day.
But no, Paul turns and faces the girl. Things go downhill
from there. He prays for God to heal her, but this takes
away her gift, and leaves the owners out of pocket. They
rustle up a belligerent mob, man-handle Paul and Silas,
and hand them over to the authorities. They are beaten
and thrown in jail. Rather far away from how the day
should have gone.
What do they do though? Sing hymns well into the night.
When God miraculously frees them, they stay, calm the
panic-ridden jailor, share the good news of Jesus’ saving
grace with him, go home with him, and baptise everyone
there in the early hours of the morning!
Paul and Silas seemed to relish their adventure, trusting
God above and beyond. A life of faith certainly didn’t
mean comfort and safety to them. They were open, eagerly
awaiting the surprises that God had in store for
them, courageous where He led them. In fact, genuinely
singing His praises wherever they found themselves.
What does this same God have in store for you and me
at work today, on the way to church on Sunday? How
will we react to our day being gate crashed by a surprising
twist?
Blessings, Andrew.