Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
THE SPIRIT OF THE TRUTH
GOD DWELLING AMONG US
The apostles should not be sad because Jesus leaves them. Their faith will become deeper and more spiritual when Jesus is no longer physically present. The Holy Spirit of truth will continue with them the mission of Jesus. This Spirit of truth will give them no new message, but he will guide the apostles and the Church to deepen their understanding of the life and the message of Jesus and to confront these constantly with the events and problems of the times. And thus, lead the Church forward.
St. Paul in Athens gives us an example of an apostle and missionary who tries to take the pagan religion of the Athenians as a starting point and to spiritualize it by stripping it from materialism and formalism.
Reading 1: Acts 17:15, 22—18:1
The men who helped Paul escape got him as far as Athens and left him there. Paul sent word back with them to Silas and Timothy: “Come as quickly as you can!”
So Paul took his stand in the open space at the Areopagus and laid it out for them. “It is plain to see that you Athenians take your religion seriously. When I arrived here the other day, I was fascinated with all the shrines I came across. And then I found one inscribed, to the god nobody knows. I’m here to introduce you to this God so you can worship intelligently, know who you’re dealing with.
24-29 “The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn’t live in custom-made shrines or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn’t take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don’t make him. Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote; he’s near. We live and move in him, can’t get away from him! One of your poets said it well: ‘We’re the God-created.’ Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it?
30-31 “God overlooks it as long as you don’t know any better—but that time is past. The unknown is now known, and he’s calling for a radical life-change. He has set a day when the entire human race will be judged and everything set right. And he has already appointed the judge, confirming him before everyone by raising him from the dead.”
32-34 At the phrase “raising him from the dead,” the listeners split: Some laughed at him and walked off making jokes; others said, “Let’s do this again. We want to hear more.” But that was it for the day, and Paul left. There were still others, it turned out, who were convinced then and there, and stuck with Paul—among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris.
18 1-4 After Athens, Paul went to Corinth. That is where he discovered Aquila, a Jew born in Pontus, and his wife, Priscilla. They had just arrived from Italy, part of the general expulsion of Jews from Rome ordered by Claudius. Paul moved in with them, and they worked together at their common trade of tentmaking. But every Sabbath he was at the meeting place, doing his best to convince both Jews and Greeks about Jesus.
Gospel: Jn 16:12-15
“I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine. That is why I’ve said, ‘He takes from me and delivers to you.’
Prayer
Lord God, our Father,
you are not far away from any of us,
for in you. we live and move and exist
and you live in us
through your Holy Spirit.
Be indeed with us Lord,
send us your Holy Spirit of truth
and through him deepen our understanding
of the life and message of your Son,
that we may accept the full truth
and live with it consistently.
We ask you this through Christ, our Lord.
Reflection:
6th Week of Easter, Wednesday
17 May 2023
John 16:12-15
Come Holy Spirit, renew the face of the earth…
In today’s Gospel, Jesus promises us that when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide us into all truth. It is important to read this sentence carefully. Because it does not say that today, here and now, we already have the whole truth. What he tells us is that the Holy Spirit will guide us towards the truth. The conclusion is easy: we are on the way. That whole truth is revealed to us gradually on our journey.
There are many Christians who believe they already possess the truth. Their conviction is that, except for themselves, everyone else is wrong, and everyone in the world lives in error except for them. We often hear people finding fault with the Church’s teachings. Like the Pharisees of the time of Jesus, some in the Church regard the traditions of the Church as more important than the commandment to love and forgive.
The reality is a little different. There is an image that can help us better understand the situation of the pilgrim Church. The image is that of a pilgrimage where the one who goes ahead has a lantern, that vaguely illuminates the way. Those who walk behind, following this lantern, know where they want to go, but they have to grope their way because darkness surrounds them. So are we men and women of this world, of all generations, walking and searching for the best, with many mistakes and errors along the way. But always with our eyes on the horizon, on the destination we want to reach: the Kingdom. Those who work for justice, scientists who seek remedies and solutions that make people’s lives easier, politicians who are honest and want to serve society, Christians and members of other religions, we all seek the best for this world, for humanity.
We have only one lantern, and that is the Spirit that animates our steps and encourages us to collaborate with everyone to make this world a better place for the sons and daughters of God, where no one is excluded or condemned. Always open to dialogue, always full of hope because, like Jesus, like God, we believe in humanity and that God is working out his plan of salvation in our history.