Acts 17: 15.22-18:1,
Psalm 148:1-2.11-12.13.14,
John 16:12-15 Full Readings
Saint Bede the Venerable
He Will Lead You to All Truth
Today, Jesus continues with His farewell words to his Apostles as well as ensuring them of His promise of the Holy Spirit and today, He introduces this Spirit under the title, Spirit of Truth as he says: “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.” John 16:12–13
One of the fundamental roles of the Holy Spirit is to show and lead us to the truth and to inspire us to live for the truth. This truth is neither created by us nor even discovered by our own powers, it is the truth that comes from God, which is God Himself, for God is Truth and in Him there is no falsehood since he is utterly true, good, and just. Since he is the author and source of all that is true and good, then the closer we draw near to him in order to listen to his word and understand his mind and will for us, the more we will grow in the knowledge of God and of his great love, wisdom, and plan for us. If we have to know everything about God, and his Son Jesus who is the way, the truth and the Life, we need the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit we live in ignorance and ignorance is the worst threat to faith as well as in our daily living.
Ignorance is a great weapon used by the devil. It is opposed to truth and knowledge. People are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6). Ignorance can make someone place priority in the wrong place or mistake a blessing for a curse or a creature for the Creator. Ignorance of God and Christ is disbelieving in God. Therefore the fundamental role of the Spirit is to reveal to us the full Truth so that we walk in the right direction, doing the right thing, and living a morally upright life which is Christ Centred.
Many skeptics of truth, and in fact may of us today, don't want to believe in an absolute, objective, and unchanging Truth. If truth is objective then it must be asserted to as trustworthy and right and be submitted to as authoritative and binding. Some fear the truth because they think it will inhibit their freedom to act, think, and judge as they wish. Many temper and alter the truth to suit their situation, lies and many are gaining from practicing falsehood. But such people are not really free but full of guilt. Jesus told his disciples that the truth will set you free (John 8:32). The truth liberates us from whatever is false, misleading, doubtful, or deceptive. Let us always long to know the truth through following the promptings of the Spirit in our lives.
Why did Christ say that the Spirit will lead you to complete truth, and did not tell them everything at that time? Firstly, he says it was too much for them to bear. Jesus knew that his disciples could not fully understand on their own everything he had taught and revealed to them while he was physically present with them. He knew that they would need the ongoing guidance and help of the Holy Spirit after he returned to his Father in heaven. Our faith grows and salvation comes gradually. The same applies to our knowledge of God. According to the Law of Gradualness, people most often grow in virtue step by step, not all at once. We absorb the truth of the Gospel at God’s pace, not ours; it is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is to guide us and teach us all the truth through our life here on earth and until we know and behold it in perfection in heaven. Are we ready to allow the Spirit to teach us always until he leads us to perfect truth in heaven.
Secondly, Christ also had in mind the future generations; he was not going to be in the world forever. He knew generations and cultures will be changing from time to time, and in each generation and cultures, it is the role of the Holy Spirit to reveal the same truths, which He Himself had revealed taking it from the Father, in a relevant and easy way in which people can understand.
Since every human era and generation has a slightly different mentality and way of thinking, differing dominant skills (the present generation dominated by social media) it will use different questions and different terminology. The guidance of the Paraclete will be necessary to translate or formulate the truth in ways which are intelligible, relevant and gripping to each new generation. Sometimes these will be expressed and forwarded by charismatic personalities who stand out from the accepted norms of society and yet are revered as transcending those norms (a Mother Teresa or a Nelson Mandela). At other times the truth will be forwarded by the established hierarchy of the Church. It may even be that some members of the hierarchy are seen also as charismatic leaders (Oscar Romero, Pope John Paul II, Pope Francis). At all times the Paraclete would be needed to guide Christian thinkers and leaders with regard to new philosophical insights and insights into human nature, and preaching to the people of their generation in the way and language they understand.
That's why we speak about inculturation. It is the Spirit that helps religious leaders, charismatic leaders and all Gospel heralds to make relevant the same truths revealed by Jesus 2000 years ago, to fit our situations, answer our contemporary questions in our cultures and in our generations. Otherwise, the Gospel of that time would be irrelevant today without the Holy Spirit working in us. It's the same Spirit also that raises up people to stand for truth and Justice in our civil societies.
In the first reading, we see the very act of inculturation. Paul uses the altar of an unknown God which the Greeks had and called it the altar of the True God, the God of Israel, the creator of the world who holds everything in his arms and invites us to be with him. He used what was in their midst, to proclaim God and many believed. It's most probable that if he had not used that altar in their midst they would not have believed Him and in His God. This is an invitation to us missionaries too. We should always try to inculturate the Gospel into our cultures so that it speaks to us easily without changing the meaning of the Gospel message. However, this needs the aid of the Holy Spirit to translate such a message, without Him we lead others astray.
Brethren, let us therefore open our hearts to the guidance of the Spirit to reveal to us the truth and to always make all things new. It is the same Spirit that made Apostles speak in tongues, went around doing miracles and preaching the Gospel, that we also receive today, that lives in us. When we open to Him, we shall surely know the truth which is God Himself and that truth will set us free, be happy in life of this world and in the one to come. All that is taught to us by the Spirit is surely of Jesus, the Spirit is the real presence of Jesus; rejecting the Spirit, is rejecting Jesus and thus self condemnation.
The Holy Spirit wants to guide us in truth. It can be difficult to listen in the noisy world in which we live. Devoted time to prayer can help us be less anxious about the things that are to come. With open hearts, let us listen and rely on the truths that the Holy Spirit, that sweet guest of our souls, is whispering to us and wanting us to share with the world which so desperately needs truth.
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