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| “God the Father with the Holy Spirit and Angels” by Bartholomaeus Spranger c. 1582 |
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
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.
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Commentary on Acts 17:15, 22—18:1
This selection places St. Paul in Athens speaking to the pagans in one of their principal venues. In his rhetoric, he uses their own beliefs to bring them to understanding by first telling them, using their “Unknown God” as a starting point, that God is not bound in gold, silver, or stone (as their idols are), but that he exists all around them, creator of all that is and will be.
When he gets to a point at which he begins talking about Jesus and the Lord’s resurrection, he loses most of them, but some remain and Christianity in that city has begun. From Athens he and his companions move to Corinth.
CCC: Acts 17:24-29 287; Acts 17:26-28 28; Acts 17:26-27 57; Acts 17:26 360; Acts 17:27-28 32; Acts 17:27 2566; Acts 17:28 300; Acts 17:31 679; Acts 17:32 996
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 148:1-2, 11-12, 13, 14
R. Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 148:1-2, 11-12, 13, 14
Psalm 148 is a hymn of praise. In this selection, we find the psalmist (presumably King David) singing of the omnipotence of God, his power and majesty, and his promise of salvation. This poem is related to the Benedicite, or “Song of the Three Children,” in Daniel 3:52-90. In both, we find catalogs of natural phenomena praising God. [4]
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Gospel: John 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."
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Commentary on Jn 16:12-15
Jesus’ farewell speech continues. His reference to the coming of the Holy Spirit is explained further, and the unity of the Holy Trinity comes into focus. The Lord tells his friends that this Advocate will give them what is also his (the Lord’s). He tells the disciples that the Holy Spirit will not bring new revelations but will allow them to understand the things that have already happened. And in that revelatory understanding, Christ will be glorified because he and the Father are one.
CCC: Jn 16:13-15 2615; Jn 16:13 91, 243, 687, 692, 1117, 2466, 2671; Jn 16:14-15 485; Jn 16:14 244, 690
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Reflection:
Any skill or craft may look simple or easy on the surface. Take the making of a table, what is there to it? It will have legs and a top. How simple is that? Yet great carpenters will know what kind of wood to use. They know what tools will be needed and how to use them and those tools will change depending on the size of the piece to be built and the complexity of its design. True artists of the craft will take a lifetime to perfect their skill.
Apply that same idea to Jesus’ farewell to his disciples being described in St. John’s Gospel. He tells them straight out: “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.” Although he is a young man by our standards, in his early 30s, he is going to meet his passion and death. With this statement it appears that his disciples have figured out what Jesus is saying and are understandably distraught.
While we do not know exactly how old his friends are, we do know they have a huge task in front of them. They are to take the Good News to the world. As they do so, principally because of the gift of the Holy Spirit to be received on Pentecost, they will understand more of what they cannot understand at the moment of this telling.
It is like this with us as well. Who among us did not grow up with our parents telling us about Jesus, and how we needed to love him and be loved by him? That very simplistic understanding was what we could grasp at the early phase of our relationship to him. As we grew older, we began to understand better what it meant to love the Lord and be loved by him. And now, as we recall the words of St. John once more, we see how far we have come and know that, like the disciples, we have a long way yet to go.
Today we give thanks for our relationship to the risen Lord, and we ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to take us further as we truly come to understand all that God will let us understand before we meet him face to face.
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “God the Father with the Holy Spirit and Angels” by Bartholomaeus Spranger c. 1582.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 35:164, p. 601.
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