Before leaving the city of Miletus, St. Paul gave a farewell address to the priests of Ephesus. His speech was full of counsel and encouragement for them in their ministry and can be found in Acts chapter 20. Paul told them of his premonition that he would never see them again, and they all wept loudly and threw their arms around him and kissed him. They knew it was Paul who had proclaimed the good news to them, the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was Paul who had lifted them up into the grace and peace of Jesus Christ. He had spoken the truth to them lovingly and for free. He was the real thing: a true apostle, a true evangelist, a true Christian. How hard they are to find!
Let St. Paul be a symbol of the spiritual gifts that you have received in your life and that inspire you to this day. Maybe you have had moving experiences at Church, or in prayer, in conversation with someone. The gifts that you have received now lie in your past, in your memory. Just like the Ephesians cherished their memories of St. Paul, you, too, must cherish your memories of the good things that God has done for you. Just like the Ephesians mourned the departure of St. Paul, so, too, can you mourn for the departure of your Christian fervor. Maybe you no longer live the Christian life with the same intensity that you once did, and you should mourn for that loss, but don’t confuse the loss of the gifts with the loss of the giver. God, the giver, remains with you, even if he withdraws his gifts.
It’s not about those gifts, anyway. Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? You were baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. St. Paul has gone, but the triune God remains, so rejoice.