“Guard the Flock, Remain in the Truth.”

There is something deeply emotional and urgent in today’s readings. In Acts, Paul speaks like a father saying goodbye to his children. He knows danger is coming, not from outside alone, but even from within: “savage wolves will come among you… even from your own group.” This is not just a warning for leaders; it is a call to every believer. The “wolves” are anything that distorts truth, false teachings, selfish ambition, division, or even subtle compromises that pull hearts away from Christ. Paul’s response is not fear, but vigilance, integrity, and self-giving love. He reminds them of his own life: he worked, he served, he gave. His authority came not from power, but from sacrifice. Then the Gospel lifts us into a different scene, Jesus praying to the Father. While Paul entrusts the Church to God, Jesus entrusts us to the Father. He does not ask that we be removed from the world, but that we be protected within it. That is striking: the Christian life is not escape, but mission. Jesus says: “Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.” This is the answer to the “wolves.” Truth is our protection. Not just knowing it intellectually, but being consecrated, set apart, shaped, and rooted in it. So, we live in a tension: We are in the world, but not of it. We are sent into the world yet guarded by God. We are vulnerable yet not abandoned. Paul shows us how to live: watchful, generous, faithful. Jesus shows us why we can live this way: because we are prayed for, protected, and consecrated. And perhaps the most moving moment in Acts is not the warning, but the farewell, the tears, the embrace, the love. True shepherding is not control; it is relationship. The Church is not just an institution, it is a community bound by love, sacrifice, and truth.