Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Acts 20:28–38
Sometimes one sentence can change a life.
A sentence that enters the heart and does not leave.
Paul knew this.
On the road to Damascus, when he was still breathing threats, when he was still hunting the disciples of Jesus, he heard one sentence:
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
Not:
Why are you persecuting them?
Me.
That one word broke him open.
The people he wanted to destroy were not strangers to Christ.
They were Christ’s own body.
From that day, Paul received them as brothers and sisters.
One sentence changed his violence into communion.
Later, in Corinth, Paul was afraid.
The city was difficult. The mission was heavy. The opposition was real.
Perhaps he was tired. Perhaps he wanted to leave.
Then the Lord spoke again:
“Do not be afraid. Go on speaking. Do not be silent. For I have many people in this city.”
And Paul stayed.
One sentence changed his fear into endurance.
He remained there for a year and six months, teaching the word of God.
And now, as Paul says goodbye to the elders of Ephesus, another sentence appears.
A word of Jesus not written in the Gospels, but treasured by the Church:
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Paul had not only remembered that sentence.
He had lived it.
He says:
“I coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothing.”
His hands had worked. His hands had carried the weight. His hands had supported himself and his companions.
He did not use the community.
He served it.
He did not build his life around taking.
He built it around giving.
That is the mark of the Gospel.
Not power for oneself. Not religion as advantage. Not leadership as possession.
Hands that work. Hands that give. Hands that lift the weak.
And perhaps this is where the reading reaches us.
What sentence is guiding my life?
What word do I carry when I am angry?
What word holds me when I am afraid?
What word corrects me when I begin to take too much and give too little?
We all live by some sentence.
Maybe:
Protect yourself. Get what you can. Do not trust anyone. Be successful. Stay comfortable. Do not get involved.
But Christ gives other words.
Why are you persecuting me?
Do not be afraid.
I have many people in this city.
It is more blessed to give than to receive.
A life can be rebuilt around such words.
Anger can become mercy. Fear can become mission. Work can become service. Goodbye can become blessing.
Paul leaves Ephesus.
But he leaves behind more than advice.
He leaves a life shaped by the words of Jesus.
And maybe today we can ask for one sentence.
One word from Christ strong enough to guide us.
Through anger. Through fear. Through work. Through love. Through goodbye.
Lord Jesus, give me the sentence that will make my life a gift.
Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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