Word to the Wise
Saturday, May 27, 2023 - 7th Week of Easter - Sat morning
[Acts 28:16-20, 30-31 and John 21:20-25][Paul] remained for two full years in his lodgings. He received all who came to him, and with complete assurance and without hindrance he proclaimed the Kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. [Acts] It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. There are many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written. [John]
SATURDAY, MAY 27, 2023 SATURDAY IN THE 7TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
[Acts 28:16-20, 30-31 and John 21:20-25]
[Paul] remained for two full years in his lodgings. He received all who came to him, and with complete assurance and without hindrance he proclaimed the Kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. [Acts]
It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. There are many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written. [John]
The Acts of the Apostles [Luke, Vol. 2] and the Gospel According to John come to their respective ends in the quotations from today's first and second scriptures. The gospel actually has two endings - one at the end of chapter 20 and the other at the end of the "appendix", chapter 21. Of course, the "time-frames" are different. The Acts of the Apostles describes the initial spread of Christianity from Galilee to Jerusalem to Rome and the whole known Mediterranean region of the Roman Empire. Paul is supposed to have been martyred around 64 AD. Luke was composed probably sometime after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The Gospel According to John is dated between 90 AD and 110 AD. We find ourselves today on the Vigil of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit, as promised by Jesus.
What the two endings of Acts and John do is to remind us that only a page is turned in the story of Jesus and Christianity. The subsequent pages to the New Testament have been written by Christian witnesses to the faith. Our own faithful following of the Lord adds to the testimony. We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us [tradition] and reflect on the first witness [scripture]. The celebration, tomorrow, of Pentecost recalls the advent of the Holy Spirit, which we have all received. AMEN