Thursday of the Second Week of Easter
Acts 5: 27-33; John 3: 31-36
Dc. Larry Brockman
“We are witnesses to these things”. Those were Peter’s words to the Sanhedrin. Indeed, we heard in the Easter Gospel that the Apostles were to go forth to all nations and be witnesses, even to the ends of the earth. And this command is passed on to all of us who were baptized as well. So we are called to be witnesses as well; but what does that mean, to be a witness?
Some people think it means that one testifies as a witness, meaning that when called to tell the truth, one describes the truth of what happened. But is that what Peter was doing in the reading? On the surface, yes indeed, that is what Peter did. He kept telling the truth of what happened. And it made the Sanhedrin angry, because they had ordered the Apostles “not to talk about that man”. But being a Christian witness means more than that. It means going forward and evangelizing. You see, that’s really what the Apostles were doing. They weren’t just defying the Sanhedrin by talking about Jesus when they were asked about Jesus. No, they were out and about telling the Jesus story with conviction every day, everywhere, to anyone they could find. And what was so convincing is that they were all in it together and they lived the message they preached. And that’s what it means to be a true Christian Witness- it means being an evangelizer.
Now our witnessing of our commitment to Christ is done by word and deed. We can talk about it, as Peter and the Apostles did. And while it is good to send people out to talk about our faith to others, that is incomplete witnessing. Because we also need to live out the word, as the Apostles did. These men didn’t just keep it to themselves in their believing community, but they moved out and witnessed their behavior far and wide, living the message they were spreading by loving one another. That’s why their message appealed; because they believed; because they lived the message as a community; and because they exuded a sense of joy and happiness despite their earthly trials. That made other folks take notice and seek out “the way”.
We are called upon to do the same. The life that we live with our families and community gives witness. It gives witness to our belief and values. In the Gospel we hear: “The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven (is above all)”. Every day of our lives, we “speak” by what we do, not just by what we say. For as St. Francis said- “Preach the Gospel, use words if you have to”.
So, what kind of a Christian witness are you? Is your witness to earthly things? Or are you above all that?
Tags: Christian Witness