First reading Acts 17:15,22-18:1
I proclaim the God you already worship without knowing it
Paul’s escort took him as far as Athens, and went back with instructions for Silas and Timothy to rejoin Paul as soon as they could.
So Paul stood before the whole Council of the Areopagus and made this speech:
‘Men of Athens, I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters, because I noticed, as I strolled round admiring your sacred monuments, that you had an altar inscribed: To An Unknown God. Well, the God whom I proclaim is in fact the one whom you already worship without knowing it.
‘Since the God who made the world and everything in it is himself Lord of heaven and earth, he does not make his home in shrines made by human hands. Nor is he dependent on anything that human hands can do for him, since he can never be in need of anything; on the contrary, it is he who gives everything – including life and breath – to everyone. From one single stock he not only created the whole human race so that they could occupy the entire earth, but he decreed how long each nation should flourish and what the boundaries of its territory should be. And he did this so that all nations might seek the deity and, by feeling their way towards him, succeed in finding him. Yet in fact he is not far from any of us, since it is in him that we live, and move, and exist, as indeed some of your own writers have said:
“We are all his children.”
‘Since we are the children of God, we have no excuse for thinking that the deity looks like anything in gold, silver or stone that has been carved and designed by a man.
‘God overlooked that sort of thing when men were ignorant, but now he is telling everyone everywhere that they must repent, because he has fixed a day when the whole world will be judged, and judged in righteousness, and he has appointed a man to be the judge. And God has publicly proved this by raising this man from the dead.’
At this mention of rising from the dead, some of them burst out laughing; others said, ‘We would like to hear you talk about this again.’ After that Paul left them, but there were some who attached themselves to him and became believers, among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman called Damaris, and others besides.
After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.
Responsorial Psalm 148:1-2,11-14
Your glory fills all heaven and earth.
or
Alleluia!
Praise the Lord from the heavens,
praise him in the heights.
Praise him, all his angels,
praise him, all his host.
All earth’s kings and peoples,
earth’s princes and rulers,
young men and maidens,
old men together with children.
Let them praise the name of the Lord
for he alone is exalted.
The splendour of his name
reaches beyond heaven and earth.
He exalts the strength of his people.
He is the praise of all his saints,
of the sons of Israel,
of the people to whom he comes close.
Gospel John 16:12-15
The Spirit of truth will lead you to the complete truth
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I still have many things to say to you
but they would be too much for you now.
But when the Spirit of truth comes
he will lead you to the complete truth,
since he will not be speaking as from himself
but will say only what he has learnt;
and he will tell you of the things to come.
He will glorify me,
since all he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.
Everything the Father has is mine;
that is why I said:
All he tells you
will be taken from what is mine.’
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Counting on the wisdom of the Spirit
In today’s Gospel, Jesus had many things to tell His disciples, but He
knew that it was not the right time and space because of their sadness,
fear and confusion. Jesus simply let go and trusted that the time would
one day come when they would be ready to listen, to understand and to
live out what He had to say. It would be the Holy Spirit who would be
with them and guide them to walk on the path of truth.
knew that it was not the right time and space because of their sadness,
fear and confusion. Jesus simply let go and trusted that the time would
one day come when they would be ready to listen, to understand and to
live out what He had to say. It would be the Holy Spirit who would be
with them and guide them to walk on the path of truth.
We have the Spirit of Truth within us. He is the one who gives us the
wisdom to know when to say to someone about an important matter and
when to keep quiet. Sometimes, people might not be ready to welcome
the word of concern and advice we know we need to say to them.
Therefore, we can count on Him to lead others to live in the light of truth
and love. He guides us on how best to reach out and love others in their
time and space.
wisdom to know when to say to someone about an important matter and
when to keep quiet. Sometimes, people might not be ready to welcome
the word of concern and advice we know we need to say to them.
Therefore, we can count on Him to lead others to live in the light of truth
and love. He guides us on how best to reach out and love others in their
time and space.
Question for reflection:
What prevents me from trusting and hoping in others and their growth
process?
What prevents me from trusting and hoping in others and their growth
process?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
