TO THE UNKNOWN GOD

TO THE UNKNOWN GOD
Homily for Wed of the 6th Wk of Easter,
17 May 2023, Jn 16,12-15

If you have been to Greece, you would know the place that Paul is talking about in our first reading. St. Luke tells us about a specific place in Athens that he visited, and which is still being visited by many tourists up until now—the so-called ACROPOLIS. The name Acropolis literally means the PEAK OF THE CITY, or the hilltop from which you can get a amazing view the rest of the city of Athens. The most famous structure on that hilltop is the Parthenon, that majestic structure surrounded by gigantic pillars. In some other Greek temples the pillars are actually marble sculptures of the Greek gods and goddesses. Most of these are still standing up until this day.
On the northwest section of the Acropolis in Athens is the Areopagus, the ancient Court of Justice where the philosopher Socrates was once tried, found guilty and sentenced to death several centuries before Paul set foot on it. St. Luke tells us in our first reading that Paul delivered a speech there addressed to the elders of the city, and began by expressing his admiration for the religiosity of the people of Athens. He mentions that what particularly caught his attention in all the temples that he had visited was the fact that among the many images of the gods and goddesses that they worshipped, there was always one empty niche. And on the altar in front of that empty niche was the inscription TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
In Pinoy lingo, Paul would have called them “sigurista” for this symbolic gesture of making sure that they did not overlook a single deity, lest this deity might get offended for being ignored. Paul uses this as his point of departure for speaking about “the God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth.” Listen to how he describes this God. He says, this God “does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands, no is he served by human hands because he needs anything. Rather, it is