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RSV

From: Acts 20:17-27

Speech of farewell to the elders of Ephesus

[17] And from Miletus he (Paul) sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. [18] And when they came to him he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you all the time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, [19] serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which befell me through the plots of the Jews; [20] how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, [21] testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance to God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. [22] And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, bound in the Spirit, not knowing what shall befall me there; [23] except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and inflictions await me. [24] But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may accomplish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. [25] And now, behold I know that all you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will see my face no more. [26] Therefore I testify to you this day that I am
innocent of the blood of all of you, [27] for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.”

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Commentary:

18-35. Paul’s address to the elders of Ephesus is his third great discourse related in Acts (the others being his address to Jews in
Pisidian Antioch—13:16ff—and to pagans at Athens—17:22ff). It is, as it were, an emotional farewell to the churches which he had founded.

The address divides into two parts. The first (vv. 18-27) is a brief resume of Paul’s life of dedication to the church of Ephesus, which he founded and directed, with hints of the difficulties which he expects to meet in the immediate future. Two parallel sections (vv. 18-21 and 26-27) frame the central passages of this section (vv. 22-25).

In the second section the Apostle speaks movingly about the mission and role of elders. Two series of recommendations (vv. 28-31 and 33-35) hinge on the central verse (v. 32).

The pathos, vigor and spiritual depth of the discourse clearly show that it is Paul who is speaking. Here we have the Paul of the letters
addressing a community which has already been evangelized, and inviting them to get to know their faith better and practise it better.

18-20. Paul is not embarrassed to set himself as an example of how to serve God and the disciples in the cause of the Gospel (cf. 1 Cor
11:1). He has worked diligently, steadily, out of love for Jesus Christ and the brethren, doing his duty, conscious that this kind of patient, persevering work is the way of perfection and holiness that God expects him to follow.

The Apostle has learned to imitate Christ both in his public life and in the long years of his hidden life, ever deepening in his love. In
this connection, St Francis de Sales writes: “Those are spiritually greedy who never have enough of exercises of devotion, so keen are
they, they say, to attain perfection; as if perfection consisted in the amount of things we do and not in the perfection with which we do them. [...] God has not made perfection to lie in the number of acts we do to please him, but in the way in which we do them: that way is to do the little we have to do according to our calling, that is, to do it in love, through love and for love” (”Sermon on the first Sunday of Lent”).

St Catherine of Siena understood our Lord to say to her something along the same lines: “I reward every good which is done, great or small, according to the measure of the love of him who receives the reward” (”Dialogue”, chap. 68).

As in his letters, Paul associates the idea of service with humility (cf. 2 Cor 10:1; 1 Thess 2:6), tears (cf. Rom 9:2; Phil 3:18) and
fortitude to keep on working despite persecution (cf. 2 Cor 11:24; 1 Thess 2:14-16). The Apostle’s true treasure is humility, for it allows him to discover his shortcomings and at the same time teaches him to rely on God’s strength. As St Teresa says, “The truly humble person will have a genuine desire to be thought little of, and condemned unjustly, even in serious matters. For, if she desires to imitate the Lord, how can she do so better than in this? And no bodily strength is necessary here, nor the aid of anyone but God “ (”Way of Perfection”, l5, 2).

21. This very brief summary of Paul’s preaching to Jews and pagans mentions repentance and faith as inseparable elements in the new life Jesus confers on Christians. “It is good to know”, Origen writes, “that we will be judged at the divine judgment seat not on our faith alone, as if we had not to answer for our conduct; nor on our conduct alone, as if our faith were not to be scrutinized. What justifies is our uprightness on both scores, and if we are short on either we shall deserve punishment” (”Dialogue with Heraclides”, 8).

The presence of grace and faith in the soul equips it to fight the Christian fight, which ultimately leads to rooting out sins and defects. “From the very day faith enters your soul,” Origen also says, “battle must be joined between virtues and vices. Prior to the onslaught of the Word, vices were at peace within you, but from the moment the Word begins to judge them one by one, a great turmoil arises and a merciless war begins. ‘For what partnership have righteousness and iniquity?’ (2 Cor 6:14)” (”In Ex Hom.”, III, 3).

22. The Apostle is convinced that God is guiding his steps and watching over him like a father; but he is also unsure about what lies ahead: this uncertainty about the future is part of the human condition. “Grace does not work on its own. It respects men in the actions they take, it influences them, it awakens and does not entirely dispel their restlessness” (Chrysostom, “Hom. on Acts”, 37).

“The true minister of Christ is conscious of his own weakness and labors in humility. He searches to see what is well-pleasing to God (cf. Eph 5:10) and, bound as it were in the Spirit (cf. Acts 20:22), he is guided in all things by the will of him who wishes all men to be saved He is able to discover and carry out that will in the course of his daily routine” (Vatican II, “Presbyterorum Ordinis”, 15).

23. “No man, whether he be a Christian or not, has an easy life. To be sure, at certain times it seems as though everything goes as we
planned. But this generally lasts for only a short time. Life is a matter of facing up to difficulties and of experiencing in our hearts
both joy and sorrow. It is in this forge that a person can acquire fortitude, patience, magnanimity and composure [...].

“Naturally, the difficulties we meet in our daily lives will not be as great or as numerous as St Paul encountered. We will, however, discover our own meanness and selfishness, the sting of sensuality, the useless, ridiculous smack of pride, and many other failings besides: so very many weaknesses. But are we to give in to discouragement? Not at all. Together with St Paul, let us tell our Lord, ‘Forth sake of Christ, I am content with weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong’ (2 Cor 12:10)” ([St] J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 17, 212).

24. Paul has come to love Jesus Christ so much that he gives himself no importance: he sees his life as having no meaning other than that of doing what God wants him to do (cf. 2 Cor 4:7; Phil 1:19-26; Col 1:24). He sees holiness as a constant, uninterrupted striving towards his encounter with the Lord; and all the great Fathers of the Church have followed him in this: “On the subject of virtue,” St Gregory of Nyssa, for example, writes, “we have learned from the Apostle himself that the only limit to perfection of virtue is that there is no limit. This fine, noble man, this divine Apostle, never ceases, when running on the course of virtue, to ‘strain forward to what lies ahead’ (Phil 3:13). He realizes it is dangerous to stop. Why? Because all good, by its very nature, is unlimited: its only limit is where it meets its opposite: thus, the limit of life is death, of light darkness, and in general of every good its opposite. Just as the end of life is the beginning of death, so too if one ceases to follow the path of virtue one is beginning to follow the path of vice” (”On the Life of Moses”, I, 5).

26. “He considers himself innocent of the blood of the disciples because he has not neglected to point out to them their defects” (St
Bede, “Super Act Expositio, ad loc.”) Paul not only preached the Gospel to them and educated them in the faith: he also corrected their faults, putting into practice the advice he gave to the Galatians: “if any man trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Look to yourself, lest you too be tempted” (Gal 6:1). “A disciple of Christ will never treat anyone badly. Error he will call error, but the person in error he will correct with kindness. Otherwise he will not be able to help him, to sanctify him” ([St] J. Escriva, “Friends of God”, 9).