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Acts: 20: 28-38
At Miletus, Paul spoke to the presbyters of the Church of Ephesus:
“Keep watch over yourselves and over the whole flock
of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers,
in which you tend the Church of God
that he acquired with his own Blood.
I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you,
and they will not spare the flock.
And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth
to draw the disciples away after them.
So be vigilant and remember that for three years, night and day,
I unceasingly admonished each of you with tears.
And now I commend you to God
and to that gracious word of his that can build you up
and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated.
I have never wanted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.
You know well that these very hands
have served my needs and my companions.
In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort
we must help the weak,
and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said,
‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
When he had finished speaking
he knelt down and prayed with them all.
They were all weeping loudly
as they threw their arms around Paul and kissed him,
for they were deeply distressed that he had said
that they would never see his face again.
Then they escorted him to the ship.
The Word of the Lord.
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“They threw their arms around Paul and kissed him…They were deeply distressed, because they would never see his face again. Then they escorted him to the ship.”
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For the last three years, Paul has been living in a Christian community, which he helped to establish. Now the time of his departure is at hand; the Spirit has revealed to him in prayer that he must leave for Jerusalem.
“What will happen to me there,” he says, “I do not know.”
While this community was heartbroken by Paul’s departure, it was a blessing in disguise – at least for us Christians today.
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Paul was always a man on the go. He’d establish one Christian community, stay there for a while, then depart for another. Because of his absence, he’d write pastoral letters to encourage these new Christians.
Those letters, along with the Acts of the Apostles, form almost half of the New Testament.
So, what do Paul’s words reveal about the early Church? And what was some of his parting advice?
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From the beginning, there was a handing on of authority. The power which the Apostles received was also given to Paul. Then he appointed presbyters – priests – who became his successors by prayer and the laying on of hands.
Then he warned these communities that “savage wolves” – false preachers – would come among them. Sadly, we still encounter false witnesses occasionally in the Church today. But Paul exhorted them to remain faithful to the Gospel they received.
Finally, he lived a life of surrender – freely accepting whatever happened to him: rejection, imprisonment, even death.
Everything Paul did was for the glory of God.
May his courageous spirit, which inspired these early Christians, also inspire us to continue God’s work today.
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Image credits: (1) SlidePlayer (2) St. Paul, Bartolomeo Montagna, Public Domain (3) DailyVerses.net