Paul Escapes Trouble as His Ministry Begins

This meditation is based on a passage for August 23, 2010 in the Daily Lectionary Year 2 from the Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (1993).

Text: Acts 9:19b-31

Reflection and Question: The beginning of Paul’s ministry was one of the images that gripped me most in Sunday School when I was young: Paul escaping from harm by being lowered by friends in a basket from an opening in the city wall. The Old Testament holds the similar story of Rahab helping Joshua’s spies escape from Jericho before the Israelites take the city. These details in both passages were foreign to my experience as a child and required imagination to grasp. This process helped establish my faith in Christ, who surely also requires imagination to grasp. What detail here grips you most and why?

Prayer: Blessed Holy Spirit, Luke reminds us that You brought comfort to those who listened to the first preachers like Paul. Comfort us, as well, we pray, that our fears of judgment may be stilled by a grasp of Your eternal love. Amen.