The unknown author of the familiar song “I saw three ships come sailing in on Christmas Day…” must have been quite optimistic about the prized contents of those vessels. Whether those “ships” relate to a real experience, or whether they are only a figment of the imagination when that old English carol from the Victorian era is sung every year prior to the sacred day, it expresses a surge of glee and anticipation for the joys of Christmas. By the same token, the year still being young, I’d like to publicly greet the Anguillian and all my avid readers with a warm wish for a blessed and bountiful New Year, 2012.
This is a year of expectation. It is a time of anxiety for what might occur, as scientific prophets of doom pronounce the end of human history with the exhaustion of the Mayan calendar. Anyway, as weeks and months unfold and time reveals the unknown, let us be confident in the fact that our future depends not on some ancient apocalyptic dogma, but on predestination governed by a divine agent, God Himself, who has the ships of our lives under His control as we plunge through turbulent seas. He will assist us by guiding our course so that we would safely determine our destiny.
I referred earlier to the “glee and anticipation” of the Christmas season. But so too, we can imagine the glee and gladness in the hearts of some 3,000-odd passengers and the expectations of the 1,000-plus crew aboard the cruise ship Costa Concordia, on that fateful Friday, January 13th.
That evening they had leftCivitavecchia, a port inRome, en route to another Italian city,Savona. Many of the passengers had long anticipated the fun of the trip – a planned vacation; a romantic honeymoon; the pleasure of a special time to cruise the mildMediterraneanat leisure. But shortly after departure, tragedy struck.
Reports state that because the captain ventured too close to theshoreofGiglioIsland, the liner unfortunately struck a huge rock which tore a 165-foot long gash in its left side. Not long after the awful impact, the ship tilted about 20 degrees to the ocean’s surface before taking on water and partially sinking like some gigantic leaning, lame sea creature.
Well, for every incident or accident there is a cause. Causation is a factor in every tragedy. This time, the blame is on human error. A kind and accommodating but carefree captain wanted to grant one of his fellow crew-men the favor of sailing close enough to Giglio so that he could wave and show-off to members of his family. What a pity! What a great loss as a result of poor ill-fated mis-judgment. If only this skipper had been more conscientious of his professional responsibilities, this story would have never hit the world news.
It puts me in mind of another fearsome sea story that took place eons ago, about AD 53. And this story took place in the same vicinity of water – the open Mediterranean, also near the coast ofItaly.
At this juncture though, I must pause to render a “hats off” salute and coodoes to Mr. David Carty, author of the DVD Nothing Bafflin’. As I view his documentary on Anguilla Boating especially from a sporting perspective, I deem him worthy of commendation, not only as an astute boats-man and boat-builder, but I would confidently say that Mr. Carty understands the science of the sea, at least enough to share with us his experiences of our own local waters— nothing baffling.
Let me get back to my AD 53 sea-fearing story now: From his prison cell in Caesarea, Paul had chosen to be tried in Rome, Italy, because he felt he was being taken advantage of by Jewish accusers both in Jerusalem and there in Caesarea. So, the Caesarean governor, Porcius Festus, assigned to the province by the Roman Emperor, readily agreed to send Paul along with many other inmates toRomefor trial.
They boarded a ship fromTurkeyand left Caesarea that October heading north, then sailing west between the Turkish mainland and theislandofCyprus. When the ship arrived at the TurkishportofMyra, they boarded a bigger vessel fromAlexandria,Egypt, one which they thought could easily stem the boisterous seas. But it turned out that soon they were facing a treacherous winter storm. It was a fierce “sea hurricane” of sorts, called a Euroclydon— a common phenomenon during that time of the year.
The sailors swiftly pulled the ship into a port city ofCretecalled Fair Havens, and they dropped anchor for a while. Suddenly, the Egyptian merchants on board who were carrying precious grain toRomedecided that instead of losing their produce to the sea by throwing it overboard to lighten the ship, they could get good sale for it at largerCretecity. So, in one greedy haste, they set the sails, hoisted anchor, and took off from Fair Havens heading towards the commercial port city ofPheonixto sell their valuable cargo. But they would never get to Pheonix. The mighty tempest drove the big ship out of control. She began to drift and became so difficult to steer that the sailors allowed her to drive on her own in one horrifying zig-zag pattern.
Fear gripped the hearts of all on board. They were worried about what would be their fate. But the famed prisoner Paul, being led of God’s Holy Spirit, stood up boldly and declared: “Men, you should have listened to me and never left Fair Havens.” “Anyway, an angel of God visited me and told me that although we shall run aground and suffer shipwreck, no life at all shall be lost, for I must be tried before Caesar inRome.”
That night, as the monstrous billows continued to beat the weary ship, the sailors dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed hard for day to come. But in the middle of the night, under the cover of darkness, the crafty sailors plotted among themselves to abandon the ship. What? Yes, those who were to take the responsibility of managing the vessel in this vicious calamity, wanted to leave.
As they began to lower the lifeboats, pretending to be putting down more anchors into the troubled water, Paul suddenly got wind of their trick. The Spirit must have informed him. He jumped up to warn those who were keeping him in custody: “If these sailors leave this ship, we would all perish,” he cautioned. Paul’s guard and the soldiers on board quickly rebuked the selfish sailors, who had no other choice but to abandon their cunning plan.
Ironically enough, it must have been for some selfish reason that the captain of the ill-fated Coasta Concordia also decided to jump ship long before thousands of his passengers were safe. Obviously, it is obsession with one’s self interests which plays a great toll in the decadence of many a society. I refer specifically now to one particular ship – the relationship of marriage – a ship that frequently sails troubled seas.
It seems so common place that when the storms of life rage, marital unions are the first to hit the billows and drift aimlessly until, one by one, marriages “hit the rocks”. Unfortunately, the captain, the head of the home, the manager of the union, the husband, often decides to abandon ship. A time or two a wife may be at fault, yes, but from my view, the husband is the one called of God to make certain that his marriage survives the rigors of the seas. One doesn’t just jump overboard and allow the floundering family to be battered and torn by the tempestuous aftermath of an unkind divorce.
See, husbands need to be cognizant of their responsibilities which take immediate effect from the time they utter their “I doos”. This sacred vow is a solemn and perpetual covenant between a husband and wife that brings about a union to propagate a family environment under God’s divine design. Inevitably, storms will present themselves. So it is in the natural, so it is in the social; the emotional; the matrimonial. In the dark night of domestic trouble and marital trials, the husband must take the courage to exercise his faith and drop his anchors. And, like Paul and his companions did, pray hard for the morning to come. All must be done to make sure that the marriage survives.
However, more often than not, the urge for selfish gratification gets in the way and takes the place of the need to reconcile. Apparently, some men cherish the stormy seas of marriage, using the “gales” as an excuse or an opportunity to jump overboard in some deceptive little life-boat. With no value or consideration for the souls on board the battered ship, without feeling the pain of their “loved ones”, they do what feels right to them. They abandon the boat. Selfish! Isn’t it? Such husbands are no different from the captain of the Concordia— no different from the tricky sailors aboard Paul’s Egyptian vessel.
I’d like to encourage all troubled husbands out there to take pride in weathering the storms. The same god who allows the storms to blow is the same god who is in control of the raging seas. He is Jehovah! He’s in charge of the wind and rough waters. He holds the seas and measures them in palm of His hand, and surely you are in there too. Staying aboard may be difficult, yes, but no, it is not impossible. Like Paul told his guard, I admonish you today: Unless you remain on board, your family will perish. Just drop your anchor and wait for a while.
