Acts 20:17-27 / John 17:1-11
If we were to look up the definition of what life is all about, it may be said that life is the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.
That is a scientific definition and it does not tell us more about the dynamics and the meaning of life.
That will be more personal and subjective as each of us will have our own personal view of life and what we think of it.
For St. Paul, this is his view of life as he puts it in the 1st reading: Life to me is not a thing to waste words on, provided that when I finish my race, I have carried out the mission the Lord Jesus gave me - and that was to bear witness to the Good News of God's grace.
St. Paul may be saying that life is not to be spent talking about the unnecessary thing or having too many unnecessary reflections.
To him, life is like a race, the time is short, and the urgency is to bear witness to the Good News of God's grace.
In the gospel, we hear Jesus saying a long prayer to the Father and many words were used.
But the words of Jesus are not personal musings or abstract reflections. The words of Jesus are not words about life but words of life and words that give life.
His words lead us to eternal life because He is the Word of God.
May our words also bear witness to the Good News of God's grace and may our words also lead others to Jesus, the Word of God.