Word to the Wise
Tuesday, May 26, 2009 - St. Philip Neri
[Acts 20:17-21 and John 17:1-11A]I did not at all shrink from telling you what was for your benefit, or from teaching you in public or in your homes. I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus.
. Paul's words to the elders at Miletus are part of an emotional farewell address. He is on his way to Jerusalem where his preaching and presence will lead to his arrest and appeal to Rome and his subsequent journey there to die a martyr's death. This final journey has parallels with Jesus' final journey but it also reflects the "agenda" of the Acts of the Apostles - the spread of the faith from Jerusalem to the center of the then-known world of the Roman Empire. The speech itself is a nutshell description and defense of his ministry everywhere. Whatever else may be said about Paul of Tarsus, he was a driven person. His conversion built on an already zealous personality which was then turned to an incredible career of challenge and danger. If one reads his Second Letter to the Corinthians in addition to the Acts of the Apostles, one may wonder how he managed to survive all that he went through. He did survive and much of the shape of the church today owes its survival to him! I can't claim to have his kind of zeal, but I can be grateful for what he accomplished. AMEN
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