Acts 17:15,22-18-1
Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and after receiving instructions to have Silas and Timothy join him as soon as possible, they left him.
Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, ‘Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, “To an unknown god.” What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things.
From one ancestor* he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, so that they would search for God* and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us. For “In him we live and move and have our being”; as even some of your own poets have said,
“For we too are his offspring.”
Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.’
When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, ‘We will hear you again about this.’ At that point Paul left them. But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
After this Paul* left Athens and went to Corinth.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Feeling God’s Presence
Our sweet 15-year-old dog passed away recently. Now, when I come into the house, it’s very different. Even if she was in another room, I sensed she was there. I didn’t need to see her or hear her to know. The phrase “they would search for God…. though indeed he is not far from each one of us” made me think of that feeling of connection I had —of just feeling her presence— whether she was upstairs enjoying her patch of sunshine or simply napping through my homecomings.
In the case of God’s presence- I only need to open my eyes, ears, or any other sense to “taste and see the goodness of God.” In a flower, phone call, gentle breeze, or cup of tea, I can know God is near. And, quite generously, the more I notice, the more God seems to bestow that sense of God’s presence all through the day…every day. How often can your senses help you feel God’s presence today?
—Donna K. Becher, M.S. is an associate spiritual director at the West Virginia Institute for Spirituality, Charleston, West Virginia. Her training is rooted in the Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, from the start You invite ordinary people to come to where you live.
When they come, you welcome them
and call them to labor and rejoice with you.
You are the most beautiful among all men,
And I hardly believe you want me for your friend.
You are powerful, Lord.
Draw me into your friendship
And lead me in the way you took with friends.
—Joseph Tetlow, SJ