Fourth Sunday of Easter: First Reading, Acts 20:17-35            

Acts 20:17-35

Our first reading this week is an address given by the Apostle Paul to those with whom he had ministered in Asia Minor, more specifically in Ephesus. Addressing the elders of the congregation there he gave encouragement and warning. And in that address he also makes a statement that, while it passes quickly from his lips and in our reading as well, has tremendous importance. And the statement has to do with the fact that while the entire counsel of God was his content, the entire world was his audience. ‘...I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20: 20-21, emphasis mine).

Jews and Greeks were to be on the receiving end of the great and glorious gospel of Christ. This was no parochial message for “locals.” This message was for all, no matter the ethnic background, educational status, gender, or personal economy. And the message of Jesus Christ still is. Let’s continually pray and ask our Lord to allow us the blessing of knowing that the message we carry is for absolutely everyone we lay eyes on. All of it. For everyone.