The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 341: Eternal Weight of Glory (2024)
Fri, 06 Dec 2024
In our reading of Acts 20, Fr. Mike reflects on the healing of Eutychus, Paul's willingness to suffer for the sake of the Gospel, and Paul's tender affection for the people he ministered to. In 2 Corinthians, Fr. Mike also highlights Paul's encouragement to hold onto the hope of beholding the glory of God with unveiled faces and to persevere in our afflictions as they prepare for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. Today's readings are Acts 20, 2 Corinthians 3-5, and Proverbs 28:25-28. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.
Chapter 1: What is the Bible in a Year podcast about?
Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds.
Chapter 2: What readings are covered on Day 341?
And now we fit into that story today. It is day 341. You guys, well done. Gosh. Day 341. You made it this far. And we are in Acts of the Apostles, chapter 20. We're reading 2nd letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, chapters 3 through 5. So three chapters today, as well as Proverbs chapter 28, verses 25 to 28.
As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, 2nd Catholic Edition. I am using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible into your reading plan, You can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in the Air. You can also subscribe to this podcast to receive daily episodes and daily updates. It is day 341.
We're reading Acts chapter 20, 2 Corinthians chapters 3, 4, and 5, as well as Proverbs chapter 28, verses 25 through 28. The Acts of the Apostles, chapter 20. Paul goes to Macedonia and Greece. After the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples and having exhorted them, took leave of them and departed from Macedonia.
When he had gone through these parts and had given them much encouragement, he came to Greece. There he spent three months, and when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he determined to return to Macedonia.
Chapter 3: What happens in Acts chapter 20?
So Peter of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him, and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus, and Gaius of Derbe and Timothy, and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. These went on and were waiting for us at Troas, but we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and in five days we came to them at Troas, where we stayed for seven days."
Paul preaches and heals Eutychus in Troas. On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. There were many lights in the upper chamber where we were gathered, and a young man named Eutychus was sitting in the window.
He sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer, and being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead." But Paul went down and bent over him and embracing him said, Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him. And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while until daybreak and so departed.
And they took the lad away alive and were not a little comforted. But going ahead to the ship, we set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for so he had arranged, intending himself to go by land. And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mytilene. And sailing from there, we came the following day opposite Chios.
The next day we touched at Samos, and the day after that we came to Miletus. For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he might not have to spend time in Asia, for he was hastening to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost. Paul speaks to the elders of Ephesus. And from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church.
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Chapter 4: How does Paul heal Eutychus?
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, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which befell me through the plots of the Jews.
How 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 to God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
And now behold, I am going to Jerusalem, bound in the Spirit, not knowing what shall befall me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.
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. And now behold, I know that all you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will see my face no more.
Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you guardians to feed the church of the Lord, which he obtained with his own blood.
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Chapter 5: What did Paul say to the elders of Ephesus?
I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own selves will arise men speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore, be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.
And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me.
In all things, I have shown you that by so toiling one must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. And when he had spoken thus, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And they all wept and embraced Paul and kissed him, sorrowing most of all because of the word he had spoken that they should see his face no more.
And they brought him to the ship. The second letter of St.
Paul to the Corinthians, chapter three, ministers of the new covenant. Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on your hearts, to be known and read by all men. Now,
If the dispensation of death, carved in letters of stone, came with such splendor that the Israelites could not look on Moses' face because of its brightness fading as this was, will not the dispensation of the Spirit be attended with greater splendor? For if there was splendor in the dispensation of condemnation, the dispensation of righteousness must far exceed it in splendor.
Indeed, in this case, what once had splendor has come to have no splendor at all because of the splendor that surpasses it. For if what faded away came with splendor, what is permanent must have much more splendor.
Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses who put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not see the end of the fading splendor, but their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds.
But when a man turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. Chapter 4
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Chapter 6: What does 2 Corinthians teach about glory?
Because we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. Chapter 5 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
Here indeed we groan and long to put on our heavenly dwelling, so that by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent we sigh with anxiety, not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are of good courage. And we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive good or evil according to what he has done in the body. The Ministry of Reconciliation Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.
We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you cause to be proud of us, so that you may be able to answer those who pride themselves on a man's position and not on his heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God. If we are in a right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all, therefore all have died.
And he died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for their sake and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh, even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come.
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The book of Proverbs chapter 28, verses 25 through 28.
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Chapter 7: What is the ministry of reconciliation?
I'm blessed in a way that I don't deserve. That they're not saying, good, he's gone. Maybe they'd say that behind my back. I don't know. But I don't think they do. They're saying, we're so glad that you're back. We hated that you were gone from us for even a day. And I just feel like... Wow, I'm participating a little bit in what St. Paul experienced in just being loved by the people of Ephesus.
Again, that's not about me. I mean it more in the lines of for us who serve those, whether you serve as a parent or serve as a boss or serve as a pastor in any way or shape or form. I don't know. I wonder if we should have that kind of relationship with those people that we serve that they miss us when we're gone instead of they're relieved when we're gone.
And I'm sure there's probably a ton of people who are relieved when I'm gone. But that's what I'm striving for, to be like St. Paul, that people, they know they're loved, I guess. Maybe that's what I'm trying to say. That was a random tangent. I apologize for that. for that because St. Paul's second letter to the Corinthians is beautiful. I'm just going to be brief about this. St.
Paul, oh gosh, he says, he talks about, you know, the first dispensation, the old covenant and the new covenant and how, here's Moses. Remember, we talked about Moses. We read about, heard about Moses, how when he went into the tabernacle to visit with the Lord, his face was transformed, so transformed that he had to put a veil over his face. And here's St.
Paul saying, okay, that was the old covenant. Here is the new and complete, the everlasting covenant of Should not we be more and more transformed into God's likeness? In fact, I love, oh my gosh. Chapter three, verse 17. Now the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. This is incredible line. Verse 18.
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Chapter 8: What does it mean to be a new creation in Christ?
And we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the spirit. With unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another. Another translation is from glory to glory. And it's just so incredible.
And yet at the same time, St. Paul goes right from there into, therefore, we hold these treasures in earthen vessels. There's a song from when I was a kid that was about the earthen vessels.
I never knew what it was talking about, but basically it's talking about we have the most incredible gift that has ever been given, the gift of eternal life, the gift of the gospel, the gift of God's grace, and yet we hold it in clay pots. We hold it in stuff that's basically, here's St. Paul saying, I have the most incredible message in the world, but I am not the most incredible messenger.
I hold the most incredible treasure in the world, but I'm holding it in a very ordinary container that we hold these treasures in earthen vessels. And so it's not about us, the ones who are holding the treasure. It's about the treasure. It's about the apostolate, right? It's about the work. And it's so good. The last thing I just want to highlight is St. Paul in chapter five.
He says, yeah, we know that the outer man is wasting away. We know that we're going to die. We know that we're in suffering. And he says, this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. One of my favorite essays in the world is an essay entitled The Weight of Glory by a young man named C.S. Lewis for this slight momentary affliction.
is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. It goes on to say, therefore, and this is chapter five, verse six, it says, therefore, we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. We are of good courage in verse eight.
We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive good or evil according to what he has done in the body. We know that we are judged upon what we do.
It's one of the reasons why we affirm that we are saved by grace through faith, working itself out in love. Again, the whole thing. We are saved by grace, free gift, through faith, right? Our response to God's gift, working itself out in love, knowing that we'll be judged on our actions. And that is something that all of us, well, I know myself, just need to say, Lord, make me more like you.
I want to love like you. I want to live like you. And that's why we keep coming back to God's word. Lord, help me to love like you. Help me to live like you. And so I'm praying for you. I'm praying for you that you continue to love like Jesus and to live like Jesus. Please pray for me that I can love like Jesus and that I can live like Jesus. My name is Father Mike.
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