Keep Learning
May 8: Wednesday of the Sixth Week of Easter
.There’s always something more for us to learn. Knowing that, we shouldn’t judge others who don’t know as much as us. In fact, we should take it as an opportunity!
That’s exactly what Paul does in today’s first reading, and what Jesus invites us to do in the Gospel.
Reading 1
Acts 17:15, 22—18:1
After Paul's escorts had taken him to Athens, they came away with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
Then Paul stood up at the Areopagus and said: "You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious. For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discovered an altar inscribed, 'To an Unknown God.' What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything. Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything. He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions, so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us. For 'In him we live and move and have our being,' as even some of your poets have said, 'For we too are his offspring.' Since therefore we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the divinity is like an image fashioned from gold, silver, or stone by human art and imagination. God has overlooked the times of ignorance, but now he demands that all people everywhere repent because he has established a day on which he will 'judge the world with justice' through a man he has appointed, and he has provided confirmation for all by raising him from the dead."
When they heard about resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, "We should like to hear you on this some other time." And so Paul left them. But some did join him, and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the Court of the Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
After this he left Athens and went to Corinth.
This is known as the Areopagus Sermon, one of the earliest appeals to pagans to convert to Christianity.
Once again, we skipped some narrative to get to the dramatic part, but that’s okay, since Paul basically recaps it at the beginning of his speech, anyway. He wandered the city, saw all the statues of the gods, and recognizes that they at least believe in something, which is a good start.
The Greeks, in their logic, kept “nameless altars,” on the assumption that there was probably some god or other they forgot to sacrifice to. Paul sees an opening and tells them, “Have I got a god for you!”
Paul tries to meet them where they are, at their understanding of God. But of course, some people don’t buy it, especially when it comes to the Resurrection.
That is out of Paul’s control. God offers grace, but we never can tell when or if someone will accept it.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 148:1-2, 11-12, 13, 14
R. Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Praise the LORD from the heavens;
praise him in the heights.
Praise him, all you his angels;
praise him, all you his hosts.
R. Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Let the kings of the earth and all peoples,
the princes and all the judges of the earth,
Young men too, and maidens,
old men and boys.
R. Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Praise the name of the LORD,
for his name alone is exalted;
His majesty is above earth and heaven.
R. Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
He has lifted up the horn of his people;
Be this his praise from all his faithful ones,
from the children of Israel, the people close to him.
Alleluia.
R. Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
This is a call for universal praise, from earth and heaven, old and young, every nation and people.
But there’s a special place for “his people,” Israel. He lifts up their horn, which is a sign of strength and glory. In other words, Jesus, raised up from this small group to announce the glory of God to the whole world.
Alleluia
Jn 14:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I will ask the Father
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you always.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Once again, Jesus is sending the Holy Spirit to guide us, once he’s no longer on the Earth.
Gospel
Jn 16:12-15
Jesus said to his disciples: "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."
Jesus, true man as well as true God, has a limited time on Earth, as do we all. He can’t explain everything to His disciples. That’s why He promises to send the Holy Spirit, to guide the Church.
We are in the age of the Church, but that doesn’t mean revelations are finished. We’re regularly discerning and discovering new1 things, thanks to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Which makes sense; since God is infinite, we’ll never know everything there is to know about Him.
The good news is, we’ll always have something more to learn!
New to us; God is eternal and unchanging.