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NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

First Reading:

From: Acts 17:15, 22-18:1

Reception in Beroea (Continuation)
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[l5] Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.

Paul's Speech in the Areopagus
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[22] So Paul, standing in the middle of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. [23] For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To an unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. [24] The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man, [25] nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything. [26] And he made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation, [27] that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him. Yet he is not far from each one of us, [28] for 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your poets have said, 'For we are indeed his offspring.'

[29] Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, a representation by the art and imagination of man. [30] The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all men everywhere to repent, [31] because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead.

[32] Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; but others said, "We will hear you again about this." [33] So Paul went out from among them. [34] But some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

Paul in Corinth, with Aquila and Priscilla
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[1] After this he left Athens and went to Corinth.

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Commentary:

22-33. Of all Paul's addresses reported in Acts, this address in the Areopagus is his longest to a pagan audience (cf. 14:15ff). It is a highly significant one, paralleling in importance his address to the Jews of Pisidian Antioch (cf. 13:16ff). It is the first model we have of Christian apologetic method, which tends to stress the reasonableness of Christianity and the fact that it has no difficulty in holding its own with the best in human thought.

The speaker is clearly the same person as wrote the first three chapters of the Epistle to the Romans, someone with a lot of experience of preaching the Gospel; his method consists in first talking about the one, true, living God and then proclaiming Jesus Christ, the divine Saviour of all men (cf. 2 Thess 1:9-10).

After an introduction designed to catch the attention of listeners and highlight the central theme (vv. 22ff), the address can be divided into three parts: 1) God is the Lord of the world; he does not need to live in temples built by men (vv. 24f); 2) man has been created by God and is dependent on him for everything (vv. 26f); 3) there is a special relationship between God and man; therefore, idolatry is a grave sin (vv. 28f). Then, in his conclusion, Paul exhorts his listeners to accept the truth about God, and to repent, bearing in mind the Last Judgment (vv. 30f).

The terminology Paul uses comes mainly from the Greek translation of the Old Testament--the Septuagint. Biblical beliefs are expressed in the language of the Hellenistic culture of the people.

22-24. "To an unknown God": St Paul praises the religious feelings of the Athenians, which lead them to offer worship to God. But he goes on to point out that their form of religion is very imperfect because they do not know enough about God and about the right way to worship him; nor does their religion free them from their sins or help them live in a way worthy of human dignity. Religious Athenians, he seems to say somewhat ironically, are in fact superstitious, and they do not know the one true God and his ways of salvation.

Paul criticizes pagan religion and points out its limitations, but he does not totally condemn it. He regards it as a basis to work on: at least it means that his listeners accept the possibility of the existence of a true God as yet unknown to them. They are predisposed to receive and accept the supernatural revelation of God in Christ. Revelation does not destroy natural religion: rather, it purifies it, completes it and raises it up, enabling a naturally religious person to know the mystery of God, One and Triune, to change his life with the help of the grace of Christ and to attain the salvation he needs and yearns for.

23. "Those who acted in accordance with what is universally naturally and eternally good were pleasing to God and will be saved by Christ...just like the righteous who preceded them" (St Justin, "Dialogue with Tryphon", 45). The Church's esteem for the positive elements in pagan religions leads her to preach to all men the fullness of truth and salvation which is to be found only in Jesus Christ. "The Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions. She has a high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and doctrines which, although differing in many ways from her own teaching, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men. yet she proclaims, and is in duty bound to proclaim without fail, Christ who is the way, and the truth, and the life (Jn 14:6). In him, in whom God reconciled all things to himself, men find the fullness of their religious life" (Vatican II, "Nostra Aetate", 2).

24. Paul's language is in line with the way God is described in the Old Testament as being Lord of heaven and earth (cf. Is 42:5; Ex 20:21). The Apostle speaks of God's infinite majesty: God is greater than the universe, of which he is the creator. However, Paul does not mean to imply that it is not desirable for God to be worshipped in sacred places designed for that purpose.

His words seem to echo those of Solomon at the dedication of the first Temple: "Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!" (1 Kings 8:27).

Any worship rendered to God should be "in spirit and truth" (Jn 4:24). But the Lord has desired to dwell in a special way and to receive homage in temples built by men. "The worship of God", St Thomas Aquinas writes, "regards both God who is worshipped and men who perform the worship. God is not confined to any place, and therefore it is not on his account that a tabernacle or temple has to be made. Worshippers, as corporeal beings, need a special tabernacle or temple set up for the worship of God; and this for two reasons. First, that the thought of its being appointed to the worship of God might instill a greater sense of reverence; second, that the way it is arranged and furnished might signify in various respects the excellence of Christ's divine or human nature. [...] From this it is clear that the house of the sanctuary was not set up to receive God as if dwelling there, but that his name might dwell there, that is, in order that the knowledge of God might be exhibited there" ("Summa Theologiae", I-II, q. 102, a. 4. ad 1).

25. The idea that God does not need man's service and does not depend on man for his well-being and happiness is to be often found in the prophetical books. "Now in Babylon you will see", Jeremiah proclaims, "gods made of silver and gold and wood, which are carried on men's shoulders and inspire fear in the heathen. [...] Their tongues are smoothed by the craftsmen, and they themselves are overlaid with gold and silver; but they are false and cannot speak. [...] When they have been dressed in purple robes, their faces are wiped because of the dust from the temple, which is thick upon them. Like a local ruler the god holds a scepter, though unable to destroy any one who offends it. [...] Having no feet, they are carried on men's shoulders, revealing to mankind their worthlessness. And those who serve them are ashamed because through them these gods are made to stand, lest they fall to the ground" (Bar 6:4, 8, 12-13, 26-27).

This does not mean that the Lord does not want men to respond to the love-offering which he makes them. "Hear, O heavens," Isaiah prophesies, "and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: Sons have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the ass its master's crib; but Israel does not know, my people does not understand" (1:2-3).

In addition to being offensive and senseless, sin implies indifference and ingratitude towards God, who, in an excess of love, is tireless in seeking man's friendship. "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son," we read in the prophet Hosea. "The more I called them, the more they went from me. [...] Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of compassion, with the bands of love" (11:1-4).

By far the greatest sign of God's love for men is the Redemption, and the sacraments of the Church, through which the fruits of the Redemption reach us. His love is expressed in a special way in the Blessed Eucharist, which provides the Christian with nourishment and is where Jesus wishes us to adore him and keep him company.

26. "From one": St Paul is referring to the text of Genesis 2:7: "then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life"; in other words, he is speaking of the first progenitor of the human race. The expression "from one" should not be interpreted as meaning from "one principle" but from "one man".

27-28. St Paul is speaking about the absolute nearness of God and his mysterious but real presence in every man and woman. St Augustine echoes this teaching when he exclaims, "Yet all the time you were within me, more inward than the most inward place of my heart, and loftier than the highest" ("Confessions", III, 6, 11).

Merely to exist, man needs God, his Creator. He also needs him if he is to continue in existence, to live and act. He needs him if he is to think and love. And in particular he needs him in order to love goodness and be good. It is correct to say that God is in us. This intimate union of God and man does not in any way take from the fact that there is a perfect distinction and radical difference between God, who is infinite, and man, who is finite and limited.

"Men, who are incapable of existing of themselves," St Athanasius writes, "are to be found confined by place and dependent on the Word of God. But God exists of himself, he contains all things and is contained by none. He is to be found within everything as far as his goodness and power is concerned, and he is outside of everything as far as his own divine nature is concerned" ("De Decretis Nicaenae Synodi", 11).

Christian spirituality has traditionally seen in these ideas an invitation to seek God in the depth of one's soul and to always feel dependent upon him.

"Consider God", says St John of Avila, "who is the existence of everything that exists, and without whom there is nothing: and who is the life of all that lives, and without whom there is death; and who is the strength of all that has capacity to act, and without whom there is weakness; and who is the entire good of everything that is good, without whom nothing can have the least little bit of good in it" ("Audi, Filia", chap. 64).

St Francis de Sales writes: "Not only is God in the place where you are, but he is in a very special manner in your heart and in the depth of your soul, which he quickens and animates with his divine presence, since he is there as the heart of your heart, and the spirit of your soul; for, as the soul, being spread throughout the body, is present in every part of it, and yet resides in a special manner in the heart, so God, being present in all things, is present nevertheless in a special manner in our spirit and therefore David called God 'the God of his heart' (Ps 73:26); and Paul said that 'we live and move and have our being in God' (Acts 17:28). By reflecting on this truth, you will stir up in your heart a great reverence for God, who is so intimately present there" ("Introduction to the Devout Life", II, chap. 2).

This quotation--in the singular--is from the Stoic poet Aratus (3rd century B.C.). The plural in the quotation may refer to a similar verse in the hymn to Zeus written by Cleanthes (also 3rd century).

"The devil spoke words of Scripture but our Saviour reduced him to silence", St Athanasius comments. "Paul cites secular authors, but, saint that he is, he gives them a spiritual meaning" ("De Synodis", 39). "We are rightly called 'God's offspring', not the offspring of his divinity but created freely by his spirit and re-created through adoption as sons" (St Bede, "Super Act Expositio, ad loc".).

29. If men are God's offspring, and are in some way like him, clearly an inanimate representation cannot contain the living God. Men have God's spirit and therefore they should recognize that God is spiritual. However, material representations of God do serve a useful purpose, due to the fact that human knowledge begins from sense experience. Visual images help us to realize that God is present and they help us to adore him. Veneration of images--as encouraged by the Church--is, therefore, quite different from idolatry: an idolater thinks that God dwells in the idol, that he acts only through the idol, and in some cases he actually thinks that the idol is God.

30. St Paul now moves on from speaking about natural knowledge of God to explaining the knowledge of God that comes from faith.

Although man can know God by using his reason, the Lord has chosen to make known the mysteries of his divine life in a supernatural way, in order to make it easier for man to attain salvation. "The Church maintains and teaches that God, the beginning and end of all things, can be known with certainty, by the natural light of human reason, from created things. [...] However, it pleased him in his wisdom and goodness to reveal himself to mankind and to make known the eternal decrees of his will in another, supernatural way" (Vatican I, "Dei Filius", chap. 2).

"It was also necessary for man to be instructed by divine Revelation concerning those truths concerning God, which human reason is able to discover, for these truths, attained by human reason, would reach man through the work of a few, after much effort and mixed in with many errors; yet the entire salvation of man, which lies in God, depends on knowledge of these truths. So, for salvation to reach men more rapidly and more surely, it was necessary for them to be instructed by divine Revelation concerning the things of God" (St Thomas Aquinas, "Summa Theologiae", I, q. 1, a. 1).

Supernatural Revelation assures man of easily attained, certain knowledge of divine mysteries; it also includes some truths--such as the existence of God--which unaided human reason can discover (cf. Rom 1:20).

"It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom", Vatican II teaches, "to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his will (cf. Eph 1:9). His will was that men should have access to the Father, through Christ, the Word made flesh, in the Holy Spirit, and thus become sharers in the divine nature (cf. Eph 2:18; 2 Pet 1:4). By this revelation, then, the invisible God (cf. Col 1: 15; 1 Tim 1 :17), from the fullness of his love, addresses men as his friends (cf. Ex 33:11; Jn 15:14-15), and moves among them in order to invite and receive them into his own company" ("Dei Verbum", 2).

The knowledge of the triune God and his saving will which supernatural revelation offers men is not just theoretical or intellectual knowledge: it has the aim of converting man and leading him to repent and to change his life. It is, therefore, a calling from God; and God expects man to make a personal response to that call. "The obedience of faith" (Rom 16:26; cf. Rom 1:5; 2 Cor 10:5-6) must be given to God as he reveals himself. By faith man freely commits his entire self to God, making 'the full submission of his intellect and will to God who reveals' (Vatican I, "Dei Filius", chap. 3), and willingly assenting to the Revelation given by him. Before this faith can be exercised, man must have the grace of God to move and assist him; he must have the interior helps of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and converts it to God" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 5).

This practical knowledge of the living and true God revealed in Christ is in fact the only way for man to know himself, despise his faults and sins, and find hope in divine mercy. It is a self-knowledge--given by God--which enables the repentant sinner to begin a new life and work freely with God at his own sanctification: "As I see it, we shall never succeed in knowing ourselves unless we seek to know God," St Teresa writes. "Let us think of his greatness and then come back to our own baseness; by looking at his purity we shall see our foulness; by meditating on his humility, we shall see how far we are from being humble" ("Interior Castle", I, 2, 9).

31. On Jesus Christ as Judge of all, see the note on Acts 10:42.

32. When St Paul begins to tell the Athenians about Jesus' resurrection from the dead, they actually begin to jeer. For pagans, the notion of resurrection from the dead was absurd, something they were not prepared to believe. If the Apostle speaks in this way, the reason is that the truths of the Christian faith all lead into the mystery of the Resurrection; even though he may have anticipated his listeners' reaction, he does not avoid telling them about this truth, which forms the bedrock of our faith. "See how he leads them," Chrysostom points out,"to the God who takes care of the world, who is kind, merciful, powerful and wise: all these attributes of the Creator are confirmed in the Resurrection" ("Hom. on Acts", 38).

The Apostle fails to overcome the rationalist prejudices of most of his audience. Here we have, as it were, an application of what he wrote later to the Corinthians: "The Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified.... folly to the Gentiles" (1 Cor 1:22), the reason being that if people do not have an attitude and disposition of faith, then reason goes out of control and haughtily rejects mysteries. If the human mind is made the measure of all things, it will despise and reject anything it does not understand--including things which are beyond human understanding. The mysteries God has revealed to man cannot be grasped by unaided human reason; they have to be accepted on faith. What moves the mind to accept these mysteries is not the evidence they contain but the authority of God, who is infallible truth and cannot deceive or be deceived. The act of faith, although strictly speaking an act of the assenting mind, is influenced by the will; the desire to believe presupposes that one loves him who is proposing the truth to be believed.

34. "Those careful to live an upright life do not take long to understand the word; but the same does not go for others" (Chrysostom, Hom. on Acts, 39).

Among the few converts in Athens St Luke mentions Damaris. She is one of the many women who appear in Acts--which clearly shows that the preaching of the Gospel was addressed to everyone without distinction. In all that they did the Apostles followed their Master's example, who in spite of the prejudices of his age proclaimed the Kingdom to women as well as men.

St. Luke told us about the first convert in Europe being a woman (cf. 16:14ff). Something similar happened in the case of the Samaritans: it was a woman who first spoke to them about the Saviour (cf. Jn 4). In the Gospels we see how attentive women are to our Lord--standing at the foot of the Cross or being the first to visit the tomb on Easter Sunday. And there is no record of women being hypocritical or hating Christ or abandoning him out of cowardice.

St Paul has a deep appreciation of the role of the Christian woman—as mother, wife and sister--in the spreading of Christianity, as can be seen from his letters and preaching. Lydia in Philippi, Priscilla and Chloe in Corinth, Phoebe in Cenchrae, the mother of Rufus--who was also a mother to him--, and the daughters of Philip (Acts 21:9): these are some of the women to whom Paul was ever-grateful for their help and prayers.

"Women are called to bring to the family, to society and to the Church, characteristics which are their own and which they alone can give--their gentle warmth and untiring generosity, their love for detail, their quick-wittedness and intuition, their simple and deep piety, their constancy..." ([St] J. Escriva, "Conversations", 87). The Church looks to women to commit themselves and bear witness to human values and to where human happiness lies: "Women have received from God", John Paul II says, "a natural charism of their own, which features great sensitivity, a fine sense of balance, a gift for detail and a providential love for life-in-the-making, life in need of loving attention. These are qualities which make for human maturity" ("Address", 7 December 1979).

When these qualities, with which God has endowed feminine personality, are developed and brought into play, woman's "life and work will be really constructive, fruitful and full of meaning, whether she spends the day dedicated to her husband and children or whether, having given up the idea of marriage for a noble reason, she has given herself fully to other tasks.

"Each woman in her own sphere of life, if she is faithful to her divine and human vocation, can and, in fact, does achieve the fullness of her feminine personality. Let us remember that Mary, Mother of God and Mother of men, is not only a model but also a proof of the transcendental value of an apparently unimportant life" (St J. Escriva, "Conversations", 87).