08/05/2024

The image of St Paul preaching in the birthplace of Western Philosophy presents  a lonely figure addressing probably the Western World's most intellectually developed audience. The men to whom he is addressing the word of God have all studied Rhetoric  and Mathematics, they belong to Schools founded by Plato, Aristotle or were Stoics. The size of our physical world had been measured 200 years previously by a Greek scientist.

They had achieved a level of human development that had huge faults and injustices but which for those elite at the top of Society there was complete intellectual and  moral satisfaction; and they had no worries about the meaning of life. They broke out in guffaws when Paul proclaimed the Resurrection. Would they have treated Jesus any differently?

We do not have any other mention of Paul or the other Apostles engaging in intellectual debate as a way of preaching the gospel. Before this incident the word of God had been preached only in cities where there were sizeable communities of Jews and was thus sowed where there was some readiness to talk about our common present realities of  life and after life, and practical morality.

Saint John's Gospel however records that Jesus promised to send us the "Spirit of Truth". "Jesting Pilate" had washed himself of all responsibility for Jesus' death when hearing this word "Truth" . Our God however promises that what he reveals is the truth of life. I cannot prove that to even myself because I am still living the gift of belief that is our opportunity to prepare for the adventure that is to be our eternal new life. This is what Jesus lived and taught as did St Paul and the other Apostles.

We all live each moment in the Grace of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We can choose to believe or not to believe what Jesus teaches but we will all know, without a shadow of doubt the Truth that death has already revealed to Pilate, to those who laughed at St Paul and to those who condemned Galileo and will reveal to all of us.

Dear Lord, help all your people on earth to know your truth, to know you as Truth and to conform our will to the teaching of Christ and his Apostles. Help me to be sinless this today and let me be aware that my previous sins have been washed clean in the flood of Mercy released from the side of the Perfect Man who died in agony at that moment on Calvary when he cried out to you the pain of our humanity. Help me to be true to your Truth and come to your fold when called, ready for my final examination for which there is no re-sit.