And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. 2 And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 3 The next day we put in at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for. 4 And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us. 5 And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 8 Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.
9 Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there.
Our kids loved the Where’s Waldo books. We would look at page after page in order to find the cute little red and white hatted guy. OK, I’ll be honest: I may have had as much fascination with the quest as they did. And there’s a stupid comic strip I read daily that often hides a triangle, star, crescent, or “x” somewhere in the panel. There will be a “Find It” with the symbol. Sometimes I cannot find it at all – although I don’t spend more than a few seconds in my quest.
Finding Jesus in the account of Paul’s trials and travels, however, is a much more important quest. And he is not obviously present in these events. He’s not mentioned in Luke’s account here. Paul doesn’t have an opportunity to witness to him even by allusion when he warns the centurion of the impending danger of their voyage.
But make no mistake. Jesus is present. When Saul was struck down on his way to Damascus, Jesus spoke, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” The church is the body of Christ. When Christians are persecuted, Jesus is persecuted. He takes it personally. Jesus promises that when two or three are gathered in his name, he is in their midst. Jesus also speaks of visiting “the least of these” in prison as visiting him. Jesus is very much present in these moments and events of Paul’s travails and travels.
I’m inclined toward explicitly naming Jesus in my prayers, conversation, and teaching. I want to be sure that I honor his name as clearly as possible. A missionary once shared with me about her and her husband’s work in south Asia. “Jesus is not getting the honor he deserves,” she said. That really captured my heart. I’m all in for honoring Jesus. I want to do that in word and deed. And I can do that also by remembering that he is in every nook and cranny of life – whether he is named or not.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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