[Jesus] said to them,
“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.” (Lk 24:46-48)
Being a witness is not an easy position for a person to be in. Being a witness can be extremely dangerous. How many times have we heard about witnesses being threatened or even killed so that they will not be able to testify.
Jesus told His followers — and tells us this day — that they were witnesses of all that He said and did. Those words were just as dangerous then as they are today.
Many of the disciples died witnessing to the Lord’s words and the Lord’s works. However, the threat of death did not hinder them from carrying out their mission for they wished nothing more than to be faithful to the Lord.
We are called to that same level of commitment. Jesus wants us to witness to Him fearlessly. St. Paul would talk about that as being compelled to do the work of the Lord.
How many times have we failed to do the work of the Lord because we were frightened about the consequences? How many times have His words not been spoken because of fear? Be a witness to the Lord. Allow Him to speak through you. St. Teresa of Avila said it best:
Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours,
yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion
is to look out to the earth,
yours are the feet by which He is to go about doing good
and yours are the hands by which He is to bless us now.
Faith Action: Talk with your spouse or family or best friend about what it means to be a witness. Ask one another how you could witness to the Lord better in your lives. Make a plan to do so.