Legacies

 May 23, 2012

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

By Colleen O'Sullivan

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… 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.” …  When he had finished speaking he knelt down and prayed with them all.  (Acts 20:28, 31-32, 36)

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying:  “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one… I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One.  They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.  Consecrate them in the truth.  Your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.  And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.”  (John 17:11b, 15-19)

Piety

O Lord, sustain us in our faith.  Though our differences be many, unite us in your one Body.  Protect us from evil in the world.  When you send us out in your name, consecrate us in truth, we pray.

Study

As I was looking over today’s Scripture readings, I was reminded of the title of a book I read years ago, “Praying Our Goodbyes,” by Joyce Rupp.   That’s exactly what’s going on in both readings.  In the passage from the Book of Acts, Paul is bidding farewell to his friends from Ephesus and praying for them, believing they will never see each other again.  In the Gospel reading, Jesus is taking leave of his cherished disciples and prays for them before going to the garden where he will be betrayed.

What a wonderful legacy.  Their friends can always remember being loved and prayed for at the end.

In the first reading, Paul offers several parting admonitions to the elders from the Ephesian church.  Always guard the flock carefully, he says.  He tells them that when he is gone, threats will come both from non-believers outside the church as well as from others within its ranks.  As Paul prepares to set sail, his parting gift is a prayer that God’s word will build up the church and its leaders in Ephesus.

In the second reading, Jesus is coming to the end of what are known in John’s Gospel as his farewell discourses.  He’s given his beloved disciples many assurances throughout the evening after their last meal together:  he’s going to prepare a place for them with his Father and he himself will be the Way to this place; when he is gone, he promises to send them the Spirit of Truth, who will empower them and guide them in continuing his mission and ministry.  It is time to go, but before they leave the Upper Room, Jesus prays for his friends.  He asks his Father to keep them faithful and to keep them united in their faith.  The Lord prays that God will protect them from the Evil One.   He asks his Father to consecrate the disciples, to set them apart to live in God’s truth.  We are never told, but I wonder if, in the days ahead, the disciples ever remember this prayer and take comfort in realizing how much Jesus cared about them.  Jesus surely knows something of the suffering that lies ahead, yet his final action after the supper is to pray for his closest friends.

Action

About a year ago, I decided it was time to have a will, medical and financial powers of attorney, and an advance medical directive drawn up.  As long as I was doing all that, I decided to go one step further and put my funeral wishes in writing, because I am the only Catholic in my family and I would like a Catholic funeral and burial.  At first, planning my own funeral seemed rather morbid, but as I was working on it, I came to see it in a different light.  It’s not that different from Paul’s and Jesus’ final prayers for their friends; your funeral can be part of your legacy to your family and friends.  As I selected songs and Scripture readings, I realized your funeral is not so much about your life as it is a statement of your faith that you leave behind for your family and friends. 

When you have time today, give thanks for Jesus’ prayers for his first disciples, because those are his prayers for us as well.  Then, reflecting on the legacies we leave our loved ones, you might want to consider your beliefs and what statement you would like your funeral to make about your faith.