When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:13)
We live in a world where it is extremely difficult to find honest people. We all love to be told the truth, yet we prefer telling others lies. The spirit of lies is one demon that has possessed most of our population, old and young, rich and poor alike. We fall too easily into the lying trap because we do not realise the seriousness of lies in our lives. Scammers are everywhere, so much so that even when one hears the truth, it is difficult to believe it.
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth – He witnesses the truth and leads us to discover the truth. In today’s First Reading, we learn that without the Holy Spirit, we cannot appreciate the truth. Paul applied philosophy to the Athenians but lost them when he mentioned the topic of resurrection. This brings us to our lessons today:
1. To Possess the Holy Spirit is To Be A Truthful Person: You cannot have the Holy Spirit in you and still tell lies. This is because telling lies is not one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Never trust anyone who tells lies; they don’t know God. If someone knows the truth and decides to twist it, that person can easily work for the devil. Jesus says: “He will glorify Me, for he will take what is mine and declare it you.” (John 16:14). The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus – the Way, the Truth and the Life. (John 14:6). Are you in the habit of telling lies? It is time to ask the Holy Spirit’s help. You may have heard the saying: “Say the truth and shame the devil.” Lies glorify the devil because it is his nature to deceive and destroy.
2. To Possess the Holy Spirit is To Be Receptive to the Truth: Resistance to the truth (fighting people because they tell us the truth) is a clear sign of the absence of the Holy Spirit in us. The Athenians did not accept Paul because they couldn’t face the truth. They acknowledged their ignorance by making an Altar with the inscription: “To an unknown god,” but when Paul brought the truth to them, they resisted it. Sometimes, we know fully well that someone is telling us the truth, but instead of listening, we become defensive. We look for a thousand reasons to shut the person down. Nevertheless, the truth must prevail.
3. Christianity is Incomparable to Other Religions: In Acts 11:20-21, Luke reports that “Some men of Cyprus and Cyrene, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Greeks also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus. The hand of the Lord was with them, and many became believers and turned to the Lord.” Unlike the Athenians in today’s First Reading, the Holy Spirit worked in the hearts of the Greeks at Antioch to receive the Gospel. This was also the case with Cornelius. Without the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of our listeners, our message is in vain. However, another reason for Paul’s failure was his decision to talk about Christianity as if it were one of the several shrines the Athenians built. Christianity is not one of the options available to man by which he can worship God; Christianity is the only Way.
4. The Holy Spirit Reveals the Future: Still, in today’s Gospel passage, Jesus said: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:13). A part of our limitation as human beings is our inability to know the future. No one can predict tomorrow despite the latest advances in science and technology. However, as Jesus teaches, we can know the things to come through the Holy Spirit, who speaks to us in various ways. For instance, in Acts 10, Peter is tranced and indirectly shown what he needs to do in Cornelius’ house.
Let us pray: Come, O Holy Spirit, fill our hearts, and enkindle in us your Sacred Fire. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Bible Study: Acts 17:15,22-18:1, Ps. 148:1-2,11-14, John 16:12-15).*
@Rev. Fr. Evaristus E. Abu