20250528 UNDERSTANDING AND GROWING IN FAITH IS A GRADUAL PROCESS
28 May 2025, Wednesday, 6th Week of Easter
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 |
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.
Your glory fills all heaven and earth.
or
Alleluia!
All earth’s kings and peoples,
earth’s princes and rulers,
young men and maidens,
old men together with children.
Your glory fills all heaven and earth.
or
Alleluia!
Let them praise the name of the Lord
for he alone is exalted.
The splendour of his name
reaches beyond heaven and earth.
Your glory fills all heaven and earth.
or
Alleluia!
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.
Your glory fills all heaven and earth.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | Col3:1 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Since you have been brought back to true life with Christ,
you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is,
sitting at God’s right hand.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn14:16 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I shall ask the Father,
and he will give you another Advocate
to be with you for ever.
Alleluia!
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.’
UNDERSTANDING AND GROWING IN FAITH IS A GRADUAL PROCESS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ACTS 17:15, 22-18:1; JOHN 16:12-15]
Jesus said to His disciples: “I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now.” Indeed, there are so many things we do not understand concerning our faith, whether it concerns the mysteries of God, our life experiences, or the development of history and the discovery of science. We are all limited in knowledge and understanding. No one can claim to understand everything in this world; we do not even know ourselves. In fact, the irony in the world today is that with all the progress made in science and technology, man has lost a sense of identity. He does not even know whether he is a man or a woman! He does not know what he is living for and the ultimate purpose of this life.
What more when it comes to the matter of faith and revelation. The truth of life is that reason can only tell us so much. No doubt, reason is a great gift from God, but it can only lead to a certain understanding of the world and of the divine mystery. Even the intellectuals from Athens came to realize their limitations. The city of Athens had many philosophers. Yet, when it came to understanding the mystery of creation, they were dumbfounded. This made Paul remark, “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.”
Indeed, reason can only lead us to the fact that there is a God beyond all that we are. Reason can inform us that there is a greater reality beyond ourselves. But who is this reality? We need divine revelation. Only God can reveal Himself to us because any human attempts to understand who God is will at best be anthropomorphic. This means that we use our human characteristics to describe God. Some religions even ascribe human activities to God, like the need to be fed at different times of the day, to be appeased when we have done something wrong, to win their favour and protection by worshipping Him or offering Him gifts and sacrifices.
But as Paul argued, “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.” Truly, if God would be God, then God is the Ultimate Reality of life. God would encompass everything on earth and in the heavens. This Ultimate Reality or Being would have no limitations and would transcend the finite world and its laws.
Because God is the creator of heaven and earth, and especially of all creatures including human beings, this becomes the basis of our common aspirations and common identity. “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. Indeed, humankind is one and we are all called to share a common home and a common destiny. Although we are diverse in language and culture, we all have the same aspirations of wanting happiness, meaning and purpose in life. No one is contented with just material or physical satisfaction alone but we seek a higher purpose and connection in life. Ultimately, we all seek God, as St Augustine tells us, “Our hearts are restless until it rests in God.” St Paul wrote, “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.'”
Divine revelation reaches its summit in Christ who is the Son of God and the Son of Man. Only through Christ, can we know who God is. This is why Christianity is a revealed religion. It is not man seeking to know God but God who chose freely to reveal Himself to man. As the letter of Hebrews tells us, “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.” (Heb 1:1-3) Only Christ who comes from God can reveal to us who God is. St John the Baptist remarked, “The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted his testimony has certified this, that God is true. He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.” (Jn 3:31-34)
As Christians we know this for certain because of the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord. St Paul said, “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.” Faith in the resurrection of our Lord therefore is the basis for us Christians believing in Jesus and all that He has taught us. His Word is truth and His claims are true simply because God has raised Him from the dead when He was put to death unjustly.
But faith is required to believe in the resurrection of the dead. Reason alone can only give us the plausibility of Jesus’ resurrection. This explains why some accepted the testimony of Paul and some do not. It was not because of Paul’s reasoned explanation of how Jesus is the fulfilment of the divine plan of God that made the people respond to him. For in truth, not all could accept but there were some who accepted the resurrection of our Lord. “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.”
However, Jesus is the fullness of revelation. Vatican II in the Constitution on Revelation says, “Jesus perfected revelation by fulfilling it through his whole work of making Himself present and manifesting Himself: through His words and deeds, His signs and wonders, but especially through His death and glorious resurrection from the dead and final sending of the Spirit of truth. Moreover, He confirmed with divine testimony what revelation proclaimed, that God is with us to free us from the darkness of sin and death, and to raise us up to life eternal. The Christian dispensation, therefore, as the new and definitive covenant, will never pass away and we now await no further new public revelation before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ (see 1 Tim. 6:14 and Tit. 2:13).” (Dei Verbum 4)
Obedience of faith is rendered to Him only through the help of the Holy Spirit. “The obedience of faith” (Rom. 16:26; see 1:5; 2 Cor 10:5-6) “is to be given to God who reveals, an obedience by which man commits his whole self freely to God, offering the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals,” and freely assenting to the truth revealed by Him. To make this act of faith, the grace of God and the interior help of the Holy Spirit must precede and assist, moving the heart and turning it to God, opening the eyes of the mind and giving “joy and ease to everyone in assenting to the truth and believing it.” To bring about an ever deeper understanding of revelation the same Holy Spirit constantly brings faith to completion by His gifts. (Dei Verbum 5)
Although Christ is the fulness of revelation, yet it does not mean that we have grasped all the words and teachings of Jesus fully. For this reason, the Lord promised His disciples. “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.”
Hence, as Dei Verbum teaches us, reiterating the teaching in Vatican I on revelation, “Through divine revelation, God chose to show forth and communicate Himself and the eternal decisions of His will regarding the salvation of men. That is to say, He chose to share with them those divine treasures which totally transcend the understanding of the human mind. As a sacred synod has affirmed, God, the beginning and end of all things, can be known with certainty from created reality by the light of human reason (see Rom. 1:20); but teaches that it is through His revelation that those religious truths which are by their nature accessible to human reason can be known by all men with ease, with solid certitude and with no trace of error, even in this present state of the human race.” (Dei Verbum 6)
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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