Daily Readings - Wed Jun 05 2019
Acts
28Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.29I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.30Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.31So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.32"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.33I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing.34You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.35In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"36When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed.37They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him.38What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
John
11I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one.12While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.13"I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.14I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.15My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.16They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.17Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.18As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.19For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
Sermon
In today's readings, we encounter two profound moments of transition and trust in God's plan. The first reading from Acts 20:28-38 captures Paul's poignant farewell to the elders of Ephesus. Paul, aware that he will not see them again, entrusts them with the care of the Church, urging vigilance against false teachings and emphasizing the importance of selfless service. He commends them to God, highlighting the power of grace and the virtue of giving over receiving. The Gospel from John 17:11b-19 presents Jesus in prayer, seeking protection and sanctification for His disciples. Jesus asks the Father to preserve them in unity and truth, even as they remain in the world, just as He was sent into the world.
Both readings are set in contexts of transition and trust. Paul, facing imprisonment and eventual martyrdom, hands over the responsibility of leadership to the elders, trusting in God's grace to sustain them. Jesus, on the eve of His Passion, intercedes for His disciples, trusting the Father to protect and sanctify them. These moments of transition highlight the importance of unity and truth in the life of the Church. Just as Paul entrusted the elders to God’s care, and Jesus entrusted His disciples to the Father, we too are called to trust in God’s providence as we navigate our own challenges and transitions.
These readings invite us to reflect on our role as stewards of God’s flock and as disciples sent into the world. Like Paul, we are called to serve selflessly, to guard against false teachings, and to trust in God’s power to build up the Church. Like Jesus’ disciples, we are called to remain in the world, even as we are sanctified in truth. May we, like Paul and Jesus, entrust ourselves and others to God, knowing that He is our strength and our inheritance. Let us strive to live as one in unity and truth, even as we face the challenges of our own time.