Peace be with you on this Tuesday of the 7th Week of Easter, as we conclude the season in which we celebrate each day, in a very special way, the Resurrection of the Lord — the Easter season. We come today to two readings that fit together extraordinarily well, because both are farewell discourses spoken by two men — one of them being God — Jesus and Saint Paul, both of whom know that their earthly mission is reaching its climax.
In many ways, Saint Paul in Acts chapter 20 reflects and imitates the very heart of Jesus in John 17, today’s Gospel. There are several profound connections that we could bring out.
First of all, both Jesus and Paul speak at the threshold of their departure. In the Gospel, Jesus says: “I will no longer be in the world.” In Acts, Paul says: “None of you will see my face again.” Both of them know that separation is imminent, suffering lies ahead, and the community will soon have to continue without their physical presence.
There is a kind of sacred sadness, isn’t there, in both of these passages.
Yet neither Jesus nor Paul focuses on himself. Both are concerned above all for the disciples, their perseverance, and the continuation of the mission. There is something deeply pastoral about that — the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep without regard for himself.
The second connection we can make is that Paul almost imitates Christ line for line in Acts 20. He is portrayed as conforming himself to Jesus.
Notice the parallels.
Jesus says: “I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.”
And Paul says: “If only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus.”
If you notice, both speak of a mission received, a work entrusted, and the desire to complete it faithfully.
For both Jesus and Saint Paul, life is not self-directed. It is vocation — following a call, being sent. This is what the word Apostle means: “to be sent.” Jesus was sent by the Father. Paul was sent by Jesus. So are we.
And we see that both of them hand on the Word of God faithfully.
Of course, Jesus is the Word of God, but Jesus says: “The words you gave to me I have given to them.” In other words, what He heard from the Father, He passed on to us.
While Saint Paul says: “I did not shrink from proclaiming the entire plan of God.”
This is one of the strongest connections in today’s readings.
Jesus received from the Father and handed on faithfully to the Apostles. Paul received from Jesus and handed on faithfully to the Church.
So we see that Christian ministry is never about inventing a message. It is transmission — receiving and handing on faithfully.
The Church lives by a sacred chain of fidelity: from the Father to Christ, from Christ to the Apostles, from the Apostles to the Church, and from us to the world.
If you notice, in both readings what is revealed is the heart of true shepherding.
Jesus prays: “I pray for them.”
While Paul speaks with tears, affection, concern, and warning.
Neither of them is detached from the flock. Both reveal that authentic spiritual authority is not domination, but self-giving love.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, both are moving freely toward suffering.
In the 17th chapter of John, we hear Jesus saying: “The hour has come.” Jesus enters into His Passion freely, consciously, and willingly. He embraces it.
In Acts chapter 20, Paul says: “Compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem,” and then goes on to say that imprisonment awaits him there.
Neither Jesus nor Saint Paul is dragged unwillingly into the suffering that awaits.
And this is the key, my brothers and sisters: Christian maturity is not avoiding the Cross, but freely entrusting oneself to the Father within it while carrying it.
Jesus Himself said: “Whoever wants to follow me must take up their cross every day, deny themselves, and then come and follow me.”
He said every day.
Imagine that: a cross to carry every day throughout this earthly journey.
But, my brothers and sisters, the good news — as we recall during this Easter season — is that the Lord is risen. He has ascended to the Father and sits at His right hand.
Yet at the very same time, because He is God, He is able to walk among us, side by side with us, every step of the way.
And He helps us to carry our cross, just as He calls us to help one another, to lift each other’s burdens, and to make life’s difficulties a little easier for one another.
Through the intercession of Saint Paul, and through the intercession of the Mother whose heart also was pierced for our transgressions, may Almighty God bless you: the Father, and the Son, ✠ and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Go in peace.
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