In today’s readings we see two farewells to beloved friends: Paul bids farewell to the presbyters of Ephesus, knowing he’ll never see them again, and Our Lord’s prolonged Last Supper farewell turns to a prayer for those whom he is leaving behind before his “glorification,” which in St. John’s language is his crucifixion and resurrection.
In today’s First Reading we recall the first part of Paul’s farewell; by assuring them he was not responsible for the blood of any of them he was saying that he had held back from nothing in their regard that was a part of God’s plan. He helped them on the path to salvation, but now the Holy Spirit was prompting him to take up an arduous mission that required leaving them behind. Our Lord, addressing his Father, also declares that he had fulfilled his mission in regard to his disciples, those who believed in him, and was preparing for what would consolidate that work: his sacrifice on the Cross, a journey to death, but also to Resurrection, that would also leave them behind.
Our Lord has done this not just for the disciples of his time, but for us. Paul too set something into motion, prompted by the Holy Spirit, that benefits us even today. What’s our response?
Readings: Acts 20:17–27; Psalm 68:10–11, 20–21; John 17:1–11a. See also 7th Week of Easter, Tuesday.