18 Paul, having remained many days longer, took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow. 19 They came to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, 21 but taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and went down to Antioch. Acts 18:18-22
This section of Acts is puzzling to me. For Paul to be keeping a vow is distinctly Jewish in a man who taught that in Christ all things are new.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Having actually lived longer than Paul, I sense he was in a bit of a funk, perhaps stir crazy in Corinth. He was at heart now an itinerant evangelist and church planter and his ministry there though challenging and profitable, now lacked the thrill of the hunt. He might have felt a sense of unease with regard to the status of all the fledgling churches he left behind. In all this and I merely speculate here, when you’ve relentlessly pursued some objective or many at the same time, life takes its toll, and introspection is unavoidable. It’s also hard to back off the throttle.
Perhaps it was the new haircut. It is said that vows (particularly of the Nazarite variety) are concluded with 30 days of purification and one’s frock of shorn hair offered up as a burnt sacrifice, preferably in Jerusalem.
Whatever the case, Paul needed some personal time, a road trip, a leave of absence, a sabbatical, whatever you might call it. After leaving Aquila and Priscilla in Ephesus, to the mother church in Jerusalem he went (up) and then down to his sending church in Antioch. It’s also a bit odd for him to be apparently traveling alone, he being “put out” with losing his helper Mark in earlier years.
We all reach these points where a volume of work’s in the can, much energy has been spent, a vow has been kept, wits have ended more than a few times, and we’re seemingly back to square one. But that’s actually not the case. We once dealt with the uncertainty of the unknown. Now we deal with the certainty of the known. To enlist for yet another tour of duty (he did, Acts 18:23) is an act based on informed consent. We do it with eyes wide open. Most times with fear and trepidation. But reenlistment is vital to stay true to oneself and one’s calling, and in Paul’s case to finish the race.
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 1 Corinthians 9:24
Leave a Reply