Acts 27:27-32. On the fourteenth night of their fateful journey, having thrown almost all supplies overboard in the midst of a terrible storm, the crew of the ship bringing Paul to Rome suspects they are nearing land. They sound and find twenty fathoms, then fifteen, and then let the anchors out lest they run around. The sailors, under pretense of letting out the anchors, lower the boat, intending to abandon ship. Paul tells the centurion and the soldiers that "Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved." The soldiers then cut the ropes to the boat and let it go.

Paul must have had a very specific vision! We learned yesterday that an angel had appeared to him and told him the ship would be lost but there would be no loss of life. Now we learn that in order for there to be no loss of life, all the people on board must stay on board, even though the ship will eventually run aground. Why would that be? Why must no one must leave the ship seeking safety? In the New Testament, ships and boats are often symbols of the Church. This is especially so when we are hearing about the apostles in a boat. Here we have Paul, Luke, and presumably some other disciples on a ship with other prisoners, a Roman centurion and soldiers, the owner of the ship, and the captain and crew. Not all of thes epeople are believers, in fact I am sure many, if not most, are Gentiles.  So is this ship a symbol of the Church? I would argue yes, or more precisely, a symbol of a church within the Church.

Paul's mission was specifically to preach to Gentiles. Now he is on board a ship in a storm with them and getting messages from God about their salvation. To me, this looks like the beginnings of a new church. There were and are small "c" churches being formed all over the place, many by Paul himself. That is how the Church was established in the world and how it continues today. So while the apostles in a boat usually represent the universal Church, I believe this group on this ship represent the beginnings of a new church within the Church. The Church is universal, so all of the same symbols and meanings apply here, but each individual church also has its own character and struggles, and we are seeing those, as well. The lesson from these sailors not being permitted to leave their "church" is that, if they do, they put themselves at risk by leaving the Church's safety, and they leave their fellow travelers behind, destroying the Church's unity.

There is no salvation outside of Jesus Christ. He will go to great lengths to save us, but once we find ourselves in the safety of the Church, we should never leave it. No matter how many storms beset the Church, and there have been and will be many, some very dire, Christ has promised that it will prevail. It is the only institution that will survive until the end of time, and the idea is to have all people "on board" by the time we get there. The only way we will survive the storms is if we face them together, each using his or her talents and gifts, and never abandoning a brother or sister to try to save ourselves.

The Church has often been compared to a ship seeing humanity through the storms of time with the Kingdom of God as its final destination. As we travel, our job is to bring as many people on board as we can. Once we are members of the Church, we are part of Christ's Body, we cannot be divided. Thus, we must never abandon ship. Not only our survival, but the survival and unity of all our shipmates depend on it, just as a body depends on all of its parts.