You are witnesses

Third Sunday of Easter – B

Today’s Gospel passage ends with Jesus saying to his disciples (and to us), “You are witnesses of these things.” This is not a hope or desire. It’s not a premonition or an invitation. It is a statement of fact. You are witnesses.

For people of faith, there is no other choice than to witness to what we have seen and heard and done in Christ Jesus. In baptism, we were reborn this way. We can’t hand off this identity to the religious experts. It’s not something we promise to be once we’re trained enough. You are witnesses, right now, with all your doubts, your faults and failings, and your unique gifts and perspectives. You alone are a witness to Christ in your one-of-a-kind way.

So the questions are these: What are we witnesses to? And how will we witness that to the world? We are witnesses to the fact that in Christ, death does not have the last word; hearts can be changed and broken relationships mended; peoples from every nation can become one.

This Easter, look around you and see where these things are happening and stand witness to that. Seek out reconciliation and be witness to that. Find Christ in the stranger and announce who you see in them. For you are witnesses of these things.

This post was first published in “GIA Quarterly: A Liturgical Music Journal.”

Image credit: Photo by Austin Chan on Unsplash.

Read more reflections on the Sunday readings here:

• Prune our hearts
• Heed and follow
• New life in Christ
• Now what?
• We are Loved and Longed For