OF MISSION AND

“Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the gospel of God’s grace.” – Acts 20:24

       The verse above is one of my favorite Bible verses of all time. It’s actually one of my life verses, and I believe the Lord led me to it when I was still a single missionary serving in Malaysia because He wanted me to see that He has a greater purpose for my life.

       I’m no longer a full-time missionary but I still consider myself one. This time, my ministry is primarily to my family, especially to my kids. The ministry that I have received from the Lord is to be a Proverbs 31:10 wife to my husband, and to raise my children to be individuals after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22).

       God has also blessed me with another ministry — to bear witness to the Gospel through the articles I write, through the blog I own, and through the work I do at Shepherd’s Voice. I only pray that, whatever else He calls me to do in the future, He will still allow me to bring His Good News to others. I pray He does the same for you, too. Tina Santiago-Rodriguez (tina@trulyrichmom.com)

Reflection: You don’t have to be a full-time missionary to bear witness to God’s Gospel. What do you believe is the ministry that the Lord has given you?

Dearest Lord, show me what You want me to do with my life. May I live out Your calling for me to the best of my ability.

Blessed John XXIII, pray for us.

Paul is aware that his days are numbered. Death will eventually come to us, though hopefully not a violent one like Paul’s. It is important that we use our time well, as we will never get back any wasted time. We all have dreams we want to accomplish and we need to use our time well and have a plan that includes each of our dreams, and those of God, for our lives.

17 From Miletus he had the presbyters of the Church at Ephesus summoned. 18 When they came to him, he addressed them, “You know how I lived among you the whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia. 19 I served the Lord with all humility and with the tears and trials that came to me because of the plots of the Jews, 20 and I did not at all shrink from telling you what was for your benefit, or from teaching you in public or in your homes. 21 I earnestly bore witness for both Jews and Greeks to repentance before God and to faith in our Lord Jesus. 22 But now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem. What will happen to me there I do not know, 23 except that in one city after another the Holy Spirit has been warning me that imprisonment and hardships await me. 24 Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the Gospel of God’s grace. 25 “But now I know that none of you to whom I preached the kingdom during my travels will ever see my face again. 26 And so I solemnly declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, 27 for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God.

R: Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth.

9 [10] A bountiful rain you showered down, O God, upon your inheritance; you restored the land when it languished; 10 [11] your flock settled in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided it for the needy. (R)19 [20] Blessed day by day be the Lord, who bears our burdens; God, who is our salvation. 20 [21] God is a saving God for us; the Lord, my Lord, controls the passageways of death. (R)

All glory in this life, and even in the next one, belongs to the Lord. When we receive acclaim for our work for the Kingdom of God, we should direct it to God and not hang on to it for ourselves. It is only by His grace that we are able to achieve anything in the proclamation of the Gospel. Similarly, without the grace of God we would never achieve anything in the world either. Let us be mindful of and grateful for the way that God sustains and blesses us daily.

I will ask the Father and He will give you another Advocate to be with you always.

1 Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, 2 just as you gave him authority over all people, so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him. 3 Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. 4 I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. 5 Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began. 6 “I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, 8 because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, 10 and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them. 11 And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.”

think:  It is important that we use the time we have well, as we will never get back any wasted time.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR 2 Samuel 13-16

THE FINAL ACT

Chapter 17 of John’s Gospel is always used in the Church’s liturgy between Ascension and Pentecost. Within the chapter, Jesus prays for Himself, for His disciples, and for those who profess themselves as Christians. One could imagine Jesus raising His eyes to heaven in addressing His Father and the disciples looking on and joining Him in prayer. The setting of this scene, over table fellowship, is very intimate.

       For John the Evangelist, eternal life is all about knowing Jesus as the One sent by the Father who reveals the Father. When Jesus talks about eternal life, He is speaking of eternal life in the present tense. We are now living the eternal life if we believe in Jesus as the One sent and anointed by the Father. Eternal life begins with the believer in his personal relationship with Jesus as Lord and Savior. Eternal life is a gift given to us by the Father from the beginning of our existence. God wills all to be saved and to have life with Him forever in His kingdom.

       As His life comes to an end, Jesus realizes that the hour has come. The hour first arrived when the Greeks sought Jesus at the Passover. When they found Jesus, He pronounced that the hour has come for His self-disclosure. The hour will be fulfilled in the final act of the Father, wherein the curtain of the Temple will be torn, symbolizing access to the Kingdom that had been shut over time. With Jesus’ body on the Cross, the curtain has been removed — the veil between man and God has been destroyed — and the hour has come to glorify the Son.

       Jesus reminds the Father of His imminent return and, as a final act, He entrusts His disciples — those whom He called, formed and sent — to the Father. We are the Lord’s possession. We belong to Him and will return to Him as Jesus Himself has returned to the Father. Fr. Brian Steele, MGL

REFLECTION QUESTION: Are you willing to entrust everything to the Father?

Dear God, let me know You more in my life and believe in the One You have sent, Jesus the Christ. Amen.