“Prayerful Farewells” by Colleen O’Sullivan[i]
Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter
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. I know those savage wolves will come among you after my departure, and they will not spare the flock. And from your group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them. When he had finished speaking, he knelt and prayed with them all. (Acts 20:28-30, 36)
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| Ian McKillop, "Jesus' High Priestly Prayer," Gethsemane series. Permission requested. |
Lifting 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 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. (John 17:11b, 15, 16-17)
Piety
O Lord, continue to commend your Church’s needs to your Father, we pray. We are as susceptible to the wiles of the Evil Spirit today as were your first disciples. Your flock throughout the world continues to face attacks both from inside and outside. Protect us from all that threatens hard. Deliver us from evil.
Study
I wouldn’t say I like change. I never have. I’m not too fond of endings, either. However, endings and farewells are part of every person’s journey through life. No matter how comfortable we are with the status quo, the one certainty is that, at some point, things will change.
Given that endings are unavoidable, I have to say that today’s Scripture readings touched me deeply. There is such great love embodied in both Paul’s and Jesus’ words of farewell. The apostle Paul doesn’t often come across to me as a warm, fuzzy person. But here, we see that people loved him greatly. He is saying goodbye to his friends in Ephesus. We read that they shed many tears. As Paul prepares to depart, the people hugged and kissed him.
Beyond that, however, he takes the time to warn his friends in Christ that challenging times lie ahead for the young Church. After Paul leaves, he senses that inside and outside enemies will attack the young Church. “Savage wolves” will attempt to destroy what Paul has worked hard to build. Those “alleged” followers of Christ present a more insidious evil perverting the Gospel’s teaching. Paul does the very best thing he can for them; he prays for them.
The Gospel reading for today opens with Jesus praying for his friends. There isn’t much time left for talking. Jesus takes the remaining minutes and prays that just as he and his Father are one, he asked that the disciples might be one. Jesus knows his followers will be working in the world and knows just as well that the Evil One will be performing at least as diligently against them, so he asks God to protect them from the Evil Spirit. Jesus asks, too, the Father consecrate them in His truth.
Action
Jesus loves you and me today every bit as much as he loved his first disciples. He continues to place the needs of his followers in his Father’s hands. When you pray today, imagine Jesus looking you in the eye and asking his Father for whatever you need. How does it feel to be so loved?
[i] Editor’s Note: While Colleen is on retreat this week, here is a reflection she originally shared on “Your Daily Tripod” from this date in the Liturgical calendar in 2018. St. Paul’s warnings about inside and outside attacks on the church seem even more timely now. Those perils make Jesus’ farewell prayer more necessary than ever.
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