Acts 20:28-38
Psalm 67(68):29-30,33-36
John 17:11-19
YOUR WORD O LORD IS TRUTH FOR YOU ARE THE TRUTH
We have cried tears of sorrow over Paul’s farewell at Miletus, imagining the heartfelt embrace, the grief, and the sacred sorrow of a community losing its beloved apostle. Yet, perhaps those tears have clouded our eyes to the danger lurking within our own communities.
Paul isn’t just saying goodbye—he’s warning us. “Savage wolves will come among you,” he declares, and some will even emerge from within, twisting the truth to gather followers for themselves. These aren’t obvious enemies at the gate or villains in disguise. They are insiders—leaders, voices fluent in God’s language.
Every bitter comment in online battles, every doctrinal scalp seized on social media, every so-called “defense of orthodoxy” that leaves someone spiritually wounded—these too are wolves dressed in holy vestments. They’ve mastered the art of crying at the right liturgies.
In the Gospel, Jesus prays, “Consecrate them in the truth.” But truth was never meant to be wielded as a weapon for our insecurity, ego, or need to be right. Jesus sanctified himself so that we might be sanctified in truth, not armed with it.
The real danger isn’t whether the world hates the Gospel—that was foretold by Jesus. The greater threat is whether we have learned to betray the Gospel while pretending to defend it.
Perhaps the most poignant tears at Miletus were shed not just for Paul’s departure but for the impending chaos, masked behind a shepherd’s smile, ready to consume all in its path.
Fr Joseph Osho
