Monday, 14th Week of Ordinary Time

Acts 20:17-38

Morning Prayer

“For never have I avoided proclaiming all of God’s plan to all of you.” (Acts 20:27)

And now, back to our story. After Athens, Paul continued to preach the Gospel in southeastern Europe fir a number of years. But eventually, he decided that he needed to go back to where it all started, Jerusalem. And he is desperate to get there in time to celebrate Pentecost with the rest of the Church. So today, we find him back in Asia (or the western coast of modern-day Turkey) with 30 days to go before Pentecost. He had spent more time in Ephesus than any other city, and it is fitting that he make this “farewell” address to the Ephesians.

But why “farewell?” Why all the tears? Why will they never see Paul again? First, Paul has made it clear elsewhere that he wants to go to Rome, and form a base from whence he can speak the Good News in Spain, and this fulfill Jesus’s promise that his witnesses would go “to the ends of the earth” (For them, standing on the western coast of Spain and looking at the vast Atlantic Ocean would have seemed just that). So, the next time he travels, he will look for a more direct route to Rome over the Mediterranean.

But then again, he might not get out of Jerusalem alive. He has certainly earned the anger of zealous Jews throughout his travels, who are convinced that he is bent on destroying their religion. In going to Jerusalem, he is going into the belly of the beast. But none of that matters to Paul, because it was never about him. But it has always been about God’s “plan.” It’s odd that most translations don’t get the Greek right here. Many speak of God’s “counsel.” Others say, “will, “or “purpose.” That is at least closer to the truth that Paul is not referring to anything he has done or said in response to God’s request. God had a plan, to which Paul did respond. But God’s plan never depended on Paul, nor does it ever depend on any of us.

Churches spend a lot of time trying to discern what sorts of ministries they should “do.” But the first question that Christians must always ask themselves is this: What is God doing, in my life, in the life of the church, in the life of the community? I’ve heard this so much that it’s threatening to become a cliché. But it’s true nonetheless. You wanna make God laugh? Tell him your plan. More clearly than anything else, I see God creating a multigenerational community at Christ Church. We need to respond the gifts of God in the community of all ages. I see the gifts of wisdom, and the gifts of passion. How will we channel those gifts in such a way that builds up our own community, and the community around us?