From Miletus Paul had the presbyters of the Church at Ephesus summoned. When they came to him, he addressed them, “You know how I lived among you the whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia. I served the Lord with all humility and with the tears and trials that came to me because of the plots of the Jews, and I did not at all shrink from telling you what was for your benefit, or from teaching you in public or in your homes. I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus. But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem. What will happen to me there I do not know, except that in one city after another the Holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonment and hardships await me. Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the Gospel of God’s grace.
The Word of the Lord.
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Often at funerals, a family member or friend offers a eulogy for the deceased, highlighting particular memories or qualities that made that person beloved by others.
Rarely has someone written his or her own eulogy.
But, in a sense, that’s what Saint Paul is doing in today’s first reading. Before boarding a ship, he says farewell to his community in Ephesus, saying, “I know that none of you to whom I preached the kingdom during my travels will ever see my face again.”
What a wrenching moment, saying farewell before his death to those whom he loved, something Jesus did just a few decades earlier.
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In this farewell discourse, Paul says several things about himself.
He spoke fearlessly. He preached to both Jews and Gentiles alike about the resurrection of Christ, often at great personal cost.
He lived independently; Paul worked for the bread he ate.
He was ready and willing to offer his life for the Gospel. “But now, compelled by the Spirit,” he says, “I am going to Jerusalem. What will happen to me there I do not know.”
Eventually, Paul travels from Jerusalem to Rome, where he’s martyred in the year 65 AD.
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What Paul says of himself we pray will be said of every Christian: “I fought the good fight. I ran the race to the finish. I kept the faith.”
May we continue running the race today.
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Images: (1) FuneralWise.com (2) Saint Paul by Bartolomeo Montagna
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and down to Ephesus where he found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They answered him, “We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” He said, “How were you baptized?” They replied, “With the baptism of John.” Paul then said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Altogether there were about twelve men.
He entered the synagogue, and for three months debated boldly with persuasive arguments about the Kingdom of God.
The Word of the Lord.
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Saint Paul is preaching the Gospel in Ephesus, when suddenly he encounters a group of incomplete Christians.
“We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit,” they say.
They’re lacking two things: knowledge of God and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
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We don’t know the extent of their faith.
We’re they only followers of John the Baptist, meaning they knew there was a God, and they knew their need to repent? Or did they actually hear of the resurrection and believe?
In any case, Paul recognizes that their experience of Christianity is incomplete. They need the Holy Spirit, so he baptizes them.
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Although every Christian is baptized, some still have an incomplete experience of God, much like those in our first reading.
Some lack knowledge of Him – how loving, supreme, and merciful he is – while others lack the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Christianity only reaches its fulfillment when we experience the fruit of the Spirit, which Saint Paul says is, “joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
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That is the goal of religion – and the mark of a fully-fledged Christian – to be at peace at with God and at peace with one’s neighbors.
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Image credits: (1) I Lobo You (2) Baptism of Saint Paul, Capella Palatina 1140 (3) BibleInfo.com
Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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We’ve entered the season of graduations and weddings, of confirmations and priestly ordinations.
Such important milestones in life are transitions: endings and beginnings.
We’ve all gone through them. For example, an important transition is the switch from middle school to high school, when familiar faces are often replaced by strangers.
Then there’s the transition into college, or the first time you felt homesick. The transition from the single life into marriage; from being newlyweds to first-time parents; from one job to another; or the transition into retirement.
There’s the transition I’ve made from being a parochial vicar to the pastor of this parish.
There are also transitions of grief.
Walking out of church after a funeral, one spouse suddenly carries the responsibility of two.
There’s the transition our entire world has made, sliding into this pandemic – and, please God, there’s the transition we’ll make out of it!
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Today we celebrate the feast of the Ascension, the moment when the Risen Christ leaves this world, returning to his heavenly Father, the most stunning transition of all.
This brings the third major change – or transition – in the Apostles’ relationship with Jesus.
First, there was the call.
I’m sure Peter often remembered that day when he was mindlessly mending his nets on the Sea of Galilee. Suddenly, Jesus appears and says to him, “Follow me.” Peter drops his nets – and the life he once lived – and follows Jesus.
That’s a transition some of us have felt. We heard the Lord calling, so we dropped our nets and followed him. Or, perhaps more simply, we dropped a habit; made a faith-based decision; changed our plans; or our outlook on life.
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Three years later, Peter experiences another transition: Christ’s death and burial. The man he promised to follow has seemingly abandoned him. It’s a transition many of us have felt – someone we loved dies, leaving us stunned and alone.
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Then there’s Christ’s ascension.
After spending the last forty days reappearing to his disciples, reassuring them that there is life after death, Jesus returns home to his heavenly Father.
As it’s written in today’s Gospel, “So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God.”
With Christ’s ascension comes that final transition for the Apostles: Jesus leaves the future of the Church in their hands. “Go into the world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature,” he says.
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What a difficult transition that must’ve been.
Prior to the Ascension, the Apostles hid behind Jesus. They watched himperform miracles; they listened to his sermons; they asked him a thousand questions.
But now the Apostles are front and center.
Now they must do the work. They must organize themselves, perform the miracles, preach to the crowds, and baptize the nations.
It’s a transition that happens in every generation. At some point, we all must make the faith of the Apostles our own.
Growing in faith often happens during those different transitions in life.
Perhaps our young people remember the moment they were confirmed. Suddenly, the faith their parents and godparents promised to teach them at baptism becomes their own.
Or maybe the moment you became a first-time parent. Staring into the face of your newly born child, you praise the Author of Life.
Our faith can also grow during those harder transitions in life: we have an empty nest; we retire; our marriage comes to an end; or we lose a loved one.
Suddenly, an absence is created within us. We need something – Someone – to sustain us, so we turn to God.
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When did I experience a transition in life? Did I feel my faith growing? Have I had an “Ascension moment”?
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This is the challenge of the Ascension, taking greater responsibility for our faith.
But this feast also brings great comfort. As Christ ascends into the heavens, he promises to send the gift of the Holy Spirit, saying, “I will not leave you orphans…the Spirit of truth will be with you always.”
It’s a truth we’re all invited to embrace. In baptism, God gives us his Spirit. Part of our faith journey is becoming more aware of the truth, that in every transition, God is with us. As Jesus says in the Gospels, “I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you.”
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We’ve entered the season of graduations and weddings, of confirmations and priestly ordinations.
Such important milestones in life are transitions: endings and beginnings.
Each transition brings the opportunity for deeper faith.
As it’s written in the Psalms, “In God alone be at rest my soul.”
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Image credits: (1) Panashstyle.com (2) TommyMcGregor.com (3) MargeFenelon.com (4) Christi Himmelfahrt by Gebhard Fugel (4) ABC news
