To All Truth!

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Acts 17:15, 22-18:1; Jn 16:12-15

Today’s Gospel highlights the role of the Holy Spirit in guiding the believers to ‘all truth.’

The work of the Holy Spirit contains several layers. 

At first, with the help and assistance coming from the Holy Spirit, the disciples will understand Christ as the definitive revelation of God to humans. However, our understanding of what was revealed in Christ is only partial because we understand the revealed truths only according to our capacity to receive them. The Latin proverb holds it right: ‘Quidquid recipitur ad modum recipientis recipitur’ (Whatever is received is received according to the manner of the receiver). Our human limitations require that we need the assistance of the Holy Spirit to grasp the fullness of the truth revealed in Christ. 

Secondly, the progressive revelation of the Divine Truth by the Holy Spirit comes as an acknowledgement of human limitations in perceiving the truth of revelation all at once and underscores God’s patience in guiding the disciples toward a gradual understanding of the truth. The use of the future tense verbs – ‘will guide,’ ‘will speak,’ ‘will declare’ – confirms that the Spirit will guide the disciples to truth as and when they are prepared to receive it. On a note of caution, we should not assume that the Holy Spirit will guide the disciples to new revelations about Christ. Instead, the Divine Advocate will lead us to a profound understanding of the person and mission of Christ. Thus, the Holy Spirit will testify to Christ. 

Thirdly, the passage becomes another example of the Trinitarian relationship. The Holy Spirit will not be a separate divine voice but one who speaks what He receives from the Son and the Father. As such, this passage emphasizes the divine unity and mutual indwelling that Jesus often highlights in John’s Gospel. The emphasis on the Trinitarian relationship becomes an example to the Christian community of love, unity, and understanding that should characterize the relationship among the disciples. 

Let us pray that we may generously respond to the promptings of the Spirit’s revelation about Christ. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar