The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to contemplate the consequences of living in the Truth to which we are led by the Holy Spirit.

Spirit of Truth

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles is Paul’s speech at the Areopagus in Athens to which the philosophers responded  ‘We will hear you again about this.’

* [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. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 17, n.d.)

Psalm 148 offers praise for God’s Universal Glory.

* [Psalm 148] A hymn inviting the beings of heaven (Ps 148:1–6) and of earth (Ps 148:7–14) to praise God. The hymn does not distinguish between inanimate and animate (and rational) nature. (Psalms, PSALM 148, n.d.)

In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells of His departure and the coming of the Advocate as the Spirit of truth who “will guide you into all the 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. (John, CHAPTER 16, n.d.)

Barbara Dilly comments that Jesus is telling us that we are going to have to let the Spirit guide us as we work through our lives. Jesus left us with the Spirit to speak to each of us in our own times to show us the way and the truth of Jesus amid rapidly changing social, cultural, and global circumstances.

With so much uncertainty in the world today, a great many people are looking for easy simple answers. And now more than ever we must find the truths of God in the complexity of this world. To gain peace in our lives, we must find the comfort and continuity of Jesus’s words revealed to us through the Spirit. That means we must trust the process that requires us to grow in wisdom and in faith toward a fuller understanding of God’s will for our lives. I pray today that we can all grow a little more each day in listening to the Spirit speak to us and in practicing discernment in our responses. (Dilly, n.d.)

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) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 17:15, 22–18:1  comments that Paul’s speech was a masterful example of how to reach out to people of different faiths and worldviews. He began not by refuting the beliefs of the Athenians but by acknowledging them. In fact, he told those gathered that day that they were “very religious” (Acts 17:22). Still, he didn’t convince many of the people. They just couldn’t fathom how anyone, especially a Jewish carpenter, could rise from the dead. One of the new believers was Dionysius, a member of the Court of the Areopagus, who probably had an outsized influence in the city. Who knows how many other people came to know Jesus through him and the others who were converted that day? 

That’s why you should never underestimate the impact you can have when you introduce someone to Jesus or bring someone further along in their walk with the Lord. You may see your influence extending only to one person, but that’s not the end of the story. You probably won’t know the end of the story until you reach heaven! But based on the multiplier effect, it’s probably more than you might ever imagine. So don’t get discouraged if you don’t see much fruit coming from your efforts to share the good news. Paul didn’t—he just did what God was asking of him and let the Lord take care of the rest. And that’s what we can do too! “Jesus, may my efforts to preach the good news bear fruit, even when I can’t see it.” (Meditation on Acts 17:15, 22–18:1, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler discusses the connection of Paul to the Stoic philosophers at the Areopagus near the Parthenon . The Athenian convert Dionysius has been identified as author of a book but it was pseudo Dionysius who taught we can’t know anything of God who is so much greater than our understanding. Friar Jude reminds us of the Spirit of Truth revealing the secrets of God and glorifies Jesus as an outpouring of Love. We experience the beginning of heaven when we experience the Spirit in our heart and by how much we are living in love.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Danté Stewart, a minister and writer, who honors the central place the Bible held in his family.

Faith—honest, deep, vulnerable faith, as  Baldwin writes—is about growing up, becoming more loving, more honest, and more vulnerable. It is facing ourselves and what we desire. It is finding a way to begin again each day. It is not that we have the right answer, or all the right solutions. It is that we have found deep meaning in the story of Jesus. We have learned, as James Cone writes, that “being black and Christian could be liberating.” (Daily Meditation: What Does It Mean to Be Black, Christian, and American?, 2022)

We meditate that the “Truth will set you free” and our experience is that it may do so as we experience our Cross of love and suffering.

References

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 17. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 25, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/17?15 

Daily Meditation: What Does It Mean to Be Black, Christian, and American? (2022, May 25). Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 25, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/what-does-it-mean-to-be-black-christian-and-american-2022-05-25/ 

Dilly, B. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved May 25, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/052522.html 

John, CHAPTER 16. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 25, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/16?12 

Meditation on Acts 17:15, 22–18:1. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved May 25, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/05/25/388508/ 

Psalms, PSALM 148. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved May 25, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/148?1 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 25, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=may25