Guided to the Truth

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today remind us that we need the Holy Spirit as a guide to keep what we imagine, say and do resonate with Jesus.

Remains of an Empire guided by humans

The learned Stoics of Athens reject Paul speaking about resurrection in the passage from the Acts of the Apostles.

* [17:22–31] In Paul’s appearance at the Areopagus he preaches his climactic speech to Gentiles in the cultural center of the ancient world. The speech is more theological than christological. Paul’s discourse appeals to the Greek world’s belief in divinity as responsible for the origin and existence of the universe. It contests the common belief in a multiplicity of gods supposedly exerting their powers through their images. It acknowledges that the attempt to find God is a constant human endeavor. It declares, further, that God is the judge of the human race, that the time of the judgment has been determined, and that it will be executed through a man whom God raised from the dead. The speech reflects sympathy with pagan religiosity, handles the subject of idol worship gently, and appeals for a new examination of divinity, not from the standpoint of creation but from the standpoint of judgment.

In the Gospel from John, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit will lead us to all truth.

* [16:13] Declare to you the things that are coming: not a reference to new predictions about the future, but interpretation of what has already occurred or been said.

Andy Alexander, S.J urges us to believe in the Resurrection and live in that freedom each day, and confidently hold onto the promise that the Holy Spirit will accompany us and guide us on our daily life.

Freedom is powerful. People with nothing to fear have great courage, are very bold and self-sacrificing. When I've decided to put down this or that bucket of sand or fear I carry around, I've experienced new energy, new life, a renewed courage. Ultimately, to take possession of the gift of life that has been given me - to acknowledge that all the "deaths" that "threaten" me are mere "scarecrows," - then I really do have a renewed life. Accepting grace - which is a gift - and living in it, really empowers the grace to be effective.

Don Schwager quotes Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) who explains the progressive work of the Spirit in guiding the disciples of Jesus in all the truth.

"Accordingly, when he says, 'He will teach you all truth' or 'will guide you into all truth,' I do not think the fulfillment is possible in anyone's mind in this present life. For who is there, while living in this corruptible and soul-oppressing body (Wisdom 9:15), that can know all truth when even the apostle says, 'We know in part'? But it is effected by the Holy Spirit, of whom we have now received the promise (2 Corinthians 1:21), that we shall attain also to the actual fullness of knowledge that the same apostle references when he says, 'But then face to face' and 'Now I know in part, but then shall I know even as also I am known' (1 Corinthians 13:12). He is not talking about something he knows fully in this life but about something that would still be in the future when he would attain that perfection. This is what the Lord promised us through the love of the Spirit, when he said, 'He will teach you all truth' or 'will guide you unto all truth.'" (TRACTATES ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 96.4)

The meditation on Acts 17:15, 22–18:1 from the Word Among Us urges us to avoid the Athenian response of “some other time”. It’s not a good way to respond to God.

When God speaks, you don’t want to miss it. It’s important to listen and take hold of what he says. He has good things to say to you, to teach you, to encourage and guide you, to shower you with grace. He knows what you need, and it is his greatest desire that you hear and respond to his voice today, not some other time.
This is why prayer is so important: so that we don’t miss what the Spirit is trying to tell us. Setting aside time in the morning for prayer allows us to hear God’s voice and to let it shape our hearts.

Friar Jude Winkler explains that Paul proclaims kerygma to Athens in a way acceptable to these people that we are all offspring of God and one family. In the Gospel we hear that the Spirit of Truth would continue to reveal to limited humanity what we need to understand Spirit, Father, and Jesus are One. Messages from the Spirit are consistent with what Jesus proclaimed.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, notes that on the whole, we live in a society that’s built not on community and cooperation but on individuality, greed, and competition—often resulting in oppressive economic systems, unnecessary suffering, and environmental devastation.

Building such communities in contrast to the surrounding society of emperor-worship was precisely Paul’s missionary strategy. Small communities of Jesus’ followers would make the message believable: Jesus is Lord (rather than Caesar is Lord); sharing abundance and living in simplicity (rather than hoarding wealth); nonviolence and suffering (rather than aligning with power). Paul was not just a mystic, but also very practical.

From the experience of Paul in Athens and our inspiration from the Spirit we come to realize that Christian Community is supposed to be an Alternative Society.

References


(n.d.). CHAPTER 17 Paul in Thessalonica. 1When they took the road through .... Retrieved May 9, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/acts/acts17.htm

(n.d.). CHAPTER 16 John Retrieved May 9, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/bible/john/16:12

(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 9, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/

(n.d.). 6th Week of Easter - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily Meditations .... Retrieved May 9, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/

(2018, May 9). Church Was Supposed to Be an Alternative Society - Center for Action .... Retrieved May 9, 2018, from https://cac.org/church-was-supposed-to-be-an-alternative-society-2018-05-09/