Acts 25:1-12

Br’er Rabbit

Br’er Rabbit is the central figure in the Uncle Remus stories about life in the Southern United States. He is a crafty fellow. He often tweaks authority figures and others seeming more powerful than himself. He almost always escapes by his wits.

My favorite Br’er Rabbit story is the one where Br’er Fox catches him and is going to hurt him. Br’er Rabbit joins in a discussion with Br’er Fox about the best way to hurt that pesky rabbit. He “mistakenly” let’s slip that the last thing he would ever want to happen to him is to be thrown in the briar patch. Br’er Fox decides that this is the very thing he is going to do and in fact throws Br’er Rabbit right into the briar patch only to discover that the briar patch is where Br’er Rabbit was raised and he is totally comfortable there.

Every time I read the passage before us today I think of Br’er Rabbit. The Jews have been after Paul for over two years. They have taken oaths and set up ambushes enough times to make me also think of Wile E. Coyote trying to catch Road Runner. All of their plans fail, but they keep trying.

What is the worst thing that could happen to Paul? Surely he doesn’t want to go to Rome. Therefore, the Jews try to set up making him come back to Jerusalem so they can ambush him on the way and murder him. But what does Paul do? He appeals to Caesar! Who saw that coming?

Actually, Paul saw that coming. He had seem it coming before he even left Jerusalem. God had told him that he was going to Rome. Paul in Rome, the cultural and political center of Europe, was actually his enemies’ worst nightmare. Not only was Paul going to Rome but the government was paying for the trip and sending him under protection of Roman guards!

Br’er Rabbit is a contraction for Brother Rabbit. It seems that Br’er Paul was every bit as clever as Br’er Rabbit.