Tuesday of the 7th Week of Easter
From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to himself the elders of the assembly. When they had come to him, he said to them, "You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you all the time, Serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears, and with trials which happened to me by the plots of the Jews; How I didn't shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, teaching you publicly and from house to house, Testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus. Now, behold, I go bound by the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there; Except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait for me. But these things don't count; nor do I hold my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to fully testify to the Good News of the grace of God.
"Now, behold, I know that you all, among whom I went about preaching God's Kingdom, will see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you today that I am clean from the blood of all men, For I didn't shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.
Your congregation lived therein. You, God, prepared your goodness for the poor. The Lord announced the word. The ones who proclaim it are a great company.
God is to us a God of deliverance. To God, the Lord, belongs escape from death. But God will strike through the head of his enemies, The hairy scalp of such a one as still continues in his guiltiness.
Jesus said these things, then lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you; Even as you gave him authority over all flesh, so he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him. This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ. I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do. Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed.
"I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept your word. Now they have known that all things whatever you have given me are from you, For the words which you have given me I have given to them; and they received them, and knew for sure that I came from you. They have believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I don't pray for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them through your name which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are.
Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders carries the weight of someone who knows his time is running short. Notice how he doesn't sugarcoat what's ahead—bonds and afflictions await him in Jerusalem. Yet there's something remarkable in his response: "These things don't count; nor do I hold my life dear to myself." This isn't reckless abandon, but the freedom that comes from knowing exactly what matters most.
The connection to Jesus's prayer in John's Gospel becomes luminous here. Both Paul and Jesus speak with the clarity that comes at crucial transitions. Jesus prays for his disciples knowing he's about to leave them, asking the Father to keep them united through his name. Paul addresses the elders knowing they'll never see his face again, urging them to shepherd the flock with the same dedication he's shown.
What emerges from both passages is a profound understanding of legacy—not as monuments we build to ourselves, but as the faithfulness we pass on to others. Paul speaks of being "clean from the blood of all men" because he held nothing back in proclaiming God's word. Jesus speaks of revealing the Father's name to those given to him, ensuring they know the truth of his identity and mission.
This challenges us to consider what we're really protecting when we hold back from difficult conversations, avoid uncomfortable truths, or choose safety over service. There's something liberating in Paul's approach—he served "with all humility, with many tears," yet without shrinking from what needed to be said.
The unity Jesus prays for isn't uniformity, but the deep connection that comes from shared truth and common purpose. This happens in families around dinner tables, in parishes wrestling with real questions, in workplaces where integrity costs something.
What are we holding too dear to ourselves that might need to be released? How does knowing God's name—truly knowing who God is—change how we face uncertainty?