Southwood Lutheran Church: Act 20

The Long Goodbye. Read all of Acts 20 Here.

Growing up I learned what Minnesotans affectionately call "the long goodbye." There are about 10 steps involved. When visiting the home of a friend, its good to know the proper way to say good bye.

First look at your watch and mention that you should get going.
After about 10 minutes, stand up and mention again that you should be going. Make no sudden movements.
In about five more minutes you will get your coat on and move toward the door. At this point, you will usually have one hand on the door knob, but your conversation will likely continue before you actually open the door.
It is not unlikely that a topic will come up and you will move back into the house or back yard to see the garden or the latest home-improvement project. At this point you may have to move back to the first step.
When you do go outside, don't be surprised if your host goes with you and continues to converse for even 10 more minutes.
When you do get in your car, you should roll down the window and lean out so that your host doesn't think you're trying to rush off.
As you start to pull away your host will probably walk a few steps with your car and then stand waving until your car is no longer in site. Don't drive away to quickly. Look back at least once.

You really should begin these steps about a half hour or more before your car will actually be driving away. Remember, this "long goodbye" is done with almost every visit. You might think that the two people were never going to see each other again, when in fact they will most likely do the whole thing once more in a day or two.

In the end of Acts chapter 20, Paul is saying a "long goodbye." He has spent not only an afternoon with these people, he has spent three years with them. He has built churches, he has endured persecution, he has been involved in a riot, he has preached with both compassion and urgency, and now he will leave them. This is no short and sweet goodbye - this will take time.

And Paul is more willing to spend the time! He wants to depart from these Ephesians in a way that gives honor to their relationship with each other and with God. In his goodbye, (verses 25-36) Paul accomplishes several things:

He is clear that they will not see him again. (vs. 25)
He reminds them that he poured his heart out for them. He left nothing out. (vs. 26-27)
He gives them the task of caring for each other, empowered by the Holy Spirit to do so. (vs. 28)
He warns them of the danger ahead, danger that might even come from within their group. (vs. 29-30)
He commends them to God and God's word. (vs. 32)
He reminds them that he worked among them only to proclaim the Gospel and not for any kind of payment. (vs. 33-34)
He encourages them to support the weak and live generous lives. (vs. 35)
Finally, he prays with them, hugs them, and grieves with them. And then they walk him all the way to his ~~car~~ ship. (vs. 36-37)

Paul's relationship with these people is open and honest at the deepest and most intimate level. He is not afraid to say to them exactly what he needs to say. He speaks to them upon this departure as if he were going to die tomorrow. Of course Paul does know that what is ahead of him is going to be difficult, he will be imprisoned, and he will die for the sake of the Gospel. No matter what is ahead of him or behind him, he will treat this present moment, and these current relationships as if they were the most important thing that ever happened to him. This is a long goodbye in the very best way.

The beautiful thing about this long good-bye is that it puts the person above the planner. Paul was an incredible example (to them and to us) of devotion to God and God's people. So, how about it? How about we all become experts at the long goodbye? Or at least say "how are you?" like we really care about the answer!

What if we treated every good bye as if it were our last? What if we entered into each conversation with each person we ever spoke to as if they were the most important person God ever put in our path? What if we could walk away knowing that we said every single thing that needed to be said?

Pastor Sara

This 28 part blog will post each Tuesday through Friday from April 1 through May 16. We'll post on one chapter of Acts each day. Be sure to join us in reading this entire book. We'll learn about Jesus, about his disciples, and about how we can become more fully devoted followers of Christ.