June 4, 2025
Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Lectionary: 299
Reading 1
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 that after my departure savage wolves will come among you,
and they will not spare the flock.
And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth
to draw the disciples away after them.
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.
I have never wanted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.
You know well that these very hands
have served my needs and my companions.
In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort
we must help the weak,
and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said,
‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
When he had finished speaking
he knelt down and prayed with them all.
They were all weeping loudly
as they threw their arms around Paul and kissed him,
for they were deeply distressed that he had said
that they would never see his face again.
Then they escorted him to the ship.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm
68:29-30, 33-35a, 35bc-36ab
R. (33a) Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Show forth, O God, your power,
the power, O God, with which you took our part;
For your temple in Jerusalem
let the kings bring you gifts.
R. Sing to God, O Kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
You kingdoms of the earth, sing to God,
chant praise to the Lord
who rides on the heights of the ancient heavens.
Behold, his voice resounds, the voice of power:
“Confess the power of God!”
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Over Israel is his majesty;
his power is in the skies.
Awesome in his sanctuary is God, the God of Israel;
he gives power and strength to his people.
R. Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your word, O Lord, is truth;
consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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.
When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me,
and I guarded them, and none of them was lost
except the son of destruction,
in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I am coming to you.
I speak this in the world
so that they may share my joy completely.
I gave them your word, and the world hated them,
because they do not belong to the world
any more than I belong to the world.
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.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060425.cfm
Commentary on Acts
20:28-38
Just to remind ourselves, we are still with Paul on his
Third Missionary Journey. And today we have the second part of his
farewell discourse to the elders of the church at Ephesus. In the first
part Paul had spoken mainly about himself.
In today’s reading, he begins by reminding them that they
are to carry out the responsibility implied in their title. As ‘elders’ (presbyteroi)
they are called to watch over the flock entrusted to them. They have been
appointed ‘overseers’. The elders are called “overseers” (episkopoi,
from which come words like ‘bishop’ and ‘episcopal’) and told to pastor
(“shepherd”) the flock—demonstrating that the same men could be called
“elders”, “overseers” or “pastors” depending on how their role in the church
was seen. This community is the “church of God”, acquired with his own
blood. As God in himself does not spill blood, we can take it to mean
that the work of the Father and of the Son are seen as one; what Jesus does,
including the shedding of his blood, is an expression of everything his Father
wills.
Paul envisages fierce attacks on the community after he has
gone:
…savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the
flock.
Even from among themselves, people will arise who in
“distorting the truth” will try to cause divisions among some of the
Christians. So he begs them to take to heart all the teachings he gave
them over a period of three years.
Paul next reminds them that he is not in debt to them.
He never asked for money or clothing from anyone. His needs and those of
his companions were served by his own hands. This is something he has
mentioned more than once with some pride and satisfaction. On the
contrary, his concerns have always been for those who are weak and in need. And
he quotes the words of Jesus:
It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Incidentally, this saying is not quoted in any of the
Gospels, but of course, there must be many of Jesus’ sayings which did not get
recorded in writing.
The passage concludes with the highly emotional departure
scene with prayers and tears and much kissing and embracing. They
believed they were never more to see the father of their church. In fact, they
were to meet briefly once more.
There certainly is a good deal here for our own
reflection. We have to be ready for our Christian communities today to
come under attack, even when—or specifically because—we are living out the
gospel values. We have to admit, too, that there are often divisions among us
and that we can twist the words of the gospel to suit ourselves and our own
interests.
We need to ask to what extent we really do take care of the
weaker ones among us. We cannot separate the needs of the body from that
of the spirit.
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Commentary on John
17:11-19
Today Jesus continues his prayer for his disciples. He prays
for their continued loyalty to the gospel message and for unity among
them. He has kept them true to his name. One was lost, although that was
foreseen from all time.
They have accepted the message of Jesus and, because of
that, they will be hated by the world as Jesus himself was hated.
Because, like Jesus, they do not identify with the values and priorities of the
world.
At the same time, Jesus makes it very clear that he is not
asking that they be removed from the world’s environment, only that they be
protected from its evil influences. It is only by being in the world that
they will be able to communicate the gospel message. Armed with truth and the
integrity of Jesus himself, he is sending them into the midst of the world.
That is where they are to do their work. They were, as he said elsewhere,
to be “the salt of the earth” and the “yeast in the dough”.
Jesus prays that they be consecrated in truth, the truth of
God himself. This truth does not consist of a set of dogmas. Rather
it consists in the living out lives of perfect integrity and wholeness, in
perfect harmony with the will of the Father and the Way of Jesus, and dedicated
to bringing that truthfulness and integrity to the world. The disciples
do this by living lives of love, a love expressed in service to the well-being
of all. They have the full backing of Jesus, who says:
…I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified
in truth.
Let us then pray today:
- for
the unity among us which Jesus prayed for in his disciples;
- that
we may be ready for the hostility and the indifference of the world;
- that
we may realise, if we want to give witness to the Gospel, we must be fully
inserted into the world by which we are surrounded. To be ‘holy’ is
not to escape and distance ourselves physically from that world, which is
what many are tempted to do or even think is the right thing to do*;
- that
we may be people of complete integrity, filled with truth and sincerity,
so that what people see in us is what we truly are and wish to be:
disciples of Jesus.
__________________________
*Notwithstanding this, there are cloistered and contemplative
communities who, while physically separated from the ‘world’, devote their time
and energy to pray for that world.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/e1074g/
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
Your Son Jesus gave himself totally to those He loved - that
is, to all.
Give us a share of His unselfish love that we
too may learn from experience that there is more joy in giving ourselves than
in receiving honors or favors. May the Spirit make us also so much one that we
graciously share with one another our God-given riches and gifts as people. We
ask You this through Christ our Lord.
Gospel Reading - John 17: 11b-19
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. When I was with them I protected them
in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost
except the son of destruction, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my
joy completely. I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they
do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. 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."
Reflection
We are now in the Novena of
Pentecost, waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says that the gift
of the Holy Spirit is given only to those who ask for it in prayer (Lk 11: 13).
In the Cenacle, for nine days, from the Ascension to Pentecost, the Apostles
persevered in prayer together with Mary, the Mother of
Jesus (Acts 1: 14), and they obtained the abundance of the
gift of the Holy Spirit
(Acts 2: 4). Today’s Gospel continues to
place before us the Priestly Prayer of Jesus. It is a very opportune text to
prepare ourselves during these days for the coming of the Holy Spirit in our
life.
•
John 17: 11b-12: Keep them in Your name! Jesus
channels His concern into prayer: “Keep those You have given Me true to Your
name, so that they may be one like Us!” Everything which Jesus does in His
life, He does in the Name of God. Jesus is the manifestation of the Name of
God. The Name of God is Yahweh, JHWH. In the time of Jesus, this name was
pronounced saying, “Adonai,” “Kyrios,” “Lord.” In the discourse of Pentecost,
Peter says that Jesus, because of His Resurrection, was constituted Lord: “For
this reason the whole House of Israel can be certain that the Lord and Christ
whom God has made is this Jesus whom you crucified.” (Acts 2: 36). And Paul
says that this has been done so that “every tongue should acknowledge Jesus
Christ as Lord to the glory of God, the Father” (Phil 2:11). It is the Name
which is above all other names” (Phil 2: 9). JHWH or Yahweh, the Name of God,
took on a concrete face in Jesus of Nazareth! Unity has to form around this
name: keep those you have given Me true to Your name so that they may be one
like We are. Jesus wants the unity of the communities in such a way that they
can resist the world which hates them and persecutes them. The people united
around the name of Jesus will never be conquered!
•
John 17: 13-16: That they may share My joy to
the full. Jesus is bidding farewell. In a short time, He will go away. The
disciples continue in the world. They will be persecuted and be afflicted.
Because of this, they are sad. Jesus prays that their joy may be full. They
want to continue to be in the world without being of, or belonging to, the
world. This means to live in the system of the Empire, whether liberal or
Roman, without allowing themselves to be contaminated. Like Jesus, and with
Jesus, they should live in the opposite direction of the world.
•
John 17: 17-19: As You sent Me into the world, I
have sent them into the world. Jesus asks that they be consecrated in truth. That
is, that they may be capable of dedicating their whole life to giving witness
of their convictions concerning Jesus and God the Father. Jesus sanctified
Himself in the measure in which, during His life, He revealed the Father. He
asks that the disciples enter into the same process of sanctification. Their
mission is the same as Jesus’ mission. They sanctify themselves in the measure
in which, living in love, they reveal Jesus and the Father. To sanctify oneself
means to become human like Jesus. Pope Leo the Great said, “Jesus was so human,
but so human, as only God can be human.” For this reason, we should live in
opposition to the world, because the system of the world dehumanizes human life
and renders it contrary to the intentions of the Creator.
For Personal Consideration:
•
Jesus lived in the world, but was not of the
world. He lived contrary to the system, and because of this, He was persecuted
and was condemned to death. Do I live contrary to today’s system, or do I adapt
my faith to the system?
•
What words and actions do I show that I belong
to the world or don’t belong to the world? Am I showing a little of both?
•
Preparation for Pentecost. To invoke the gift of
the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who gave courage to Jesus. In this Novena of
preparation for Pentecost, it is good to dedicate some time to asking for the
gift of the Spirit of Jesus.
Concluding Prayer
I bless Yahweh who is my counselor, even at night my heart
instructs me.
I keep Yahweh before me always, for with Him at my right
hand, nothing can shake me. (Ps 16: 7-8)
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