March 23

Acts 20:7 – 12

Link to Bible verses: Acts 20

Stewardship/Partnership: treat all as vessels of the altar

As a recovering academic, I know the temptation to drone on and on and on as Paul was apparently doing. I remember reading this passage once and hearing, in my head, Pastor Tari laughing about the very real human quirks of so many people in the Bible; I love this lesson I learned from her. And it brought some levity to this passage. Not a bad thing.

We can also look at this passage with stewardship and partnership in mind. Two days ago, I mentioned that the Rule of Benedict calls us to regard all of creation as sacred vessels of the altar. With this understanding, think about the fact that after Paul threw himself on Eutychus and declared that he would live, he went back upstairs and broke bread. While it’s tempting to wonder why Paul left a severely injured man and droned on for yet more hours, we can also look at this story as a combination of stewardship and partnership. Paul cared for Eutychus as if Eutychus were a sacred vessel by restoring him to life. It seems Paul also worked in partnership with Christ by returning to the sacred altar and leaving Eutychus in the hands of God and others. Paul paused to care as he was capable of caring, and then he left the rest to God while celebrating the life of Christ. Stewardship and partnership.

Thank you to Linda Land-Closson for writing our 2026 Lenten Devotions.