WITNESS PROGRAM

In the first reading for today’s mass (the third Sunday of Easter) Saint Peter tells the Sanhedrin “We are witnesses to these things.“

In one of his post resurrection appearances, Jesus announces to his disciples,

"Go, be my witnesses."

“You are witnesses to these things.“ (Luke 24:48) And at the very beginning of the Acts of the Apostles the risen Lord sends out his disciples with this mission: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Earth.” The word “witness” appears ten times in the Acts of the Apostles.

We see how the Apostles bore witness by their preaching and healing, and ultimately by dying for Christ. The Greek word for witness is martyr. But as early as the period when the gospels were still being written the Greek word also took on the second meaning that it now has in English, “One who died for the faith.

But what about you and me? What does this witnessing entail each of us? What are some ways that we can act as witnesses to Christ’s victory over sin and death? The gospels offer us some good hints.

"Cast your net to the right("

Take for instance the Gospel passage assigned for today, the story of Jesus appearing to the apostles for the third time since his resurrection. The apostles are out fishing. Jesus is standing on the shore, but they do not recognize him right away. This is the same thing that happens to Mary Magdalene at the tomb, and to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.

It seems that we have the same problem too. The risen Savior is present in every person that we meet, but we often do not recognize him.

At the wake for my brother, I was sitting by myself in a separate parlor when my three year-old grandniece, Gracie, who had just arrived with her family walked up and stared at me with her big eyes the way little kids do. After a few moments, she asked me “Are you the one who died?“ I replied that no, I was not the one who died, he was in the next room. 

We Christians never need to ask anyone, “Are you the one who died?”. Every person we meet is the living presence of “the one who died.“ Or better, “the one who died and rose again.“ 

Whatsoever you do ...

Our task as witnesses to the resurrection, then, is first, to recognize Jesus in every single person around us, And then, to act on our belief by our various ways of loving them. It may be a kind word, a kind smile, a healing gesture, or going out of our way to help. The possible ways of witnessing to Christ’s presence in the world are endless.

During this holy season, then, let us pray to the apostles, who were the first to recognize the risen Lord, and the first to bear witness to “the one who died” or, better, “the one who died and rose again.”