“You are witnesses of these things.” From courtroom dramas like Perry Mason and Law and Order we know what it means to be a witness. A witness has seen something happen and then testifies to what he or she saw. “Just tell the court what you observed on the night in question in your own words.” (I always wondered at that. What other words would they use?) Jesus challenges his followers to testify to what they had seen and heard, what touched them as they followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem. They could speak of the preaching and the miracles. They could tell of the horror of the crucifixion. They could speak of the glory of the Resurrection. The challenge to be witnesses is not limited to those initial followers of Jesus but includes us as well. We are called to testify to how Jesus has touched our life as well. We speak of how Jesus has brought peace to our hearts, provided a direction for our life, showed us to recognize him in those who were hurting, taught us the right what to act, assured us of God’s plan for our lives and for the world, embodied the reality that love is stronger than death, walked with us in times of illness or distress, pointed out the true nature of the God who is love, enfolded us in loving arms of acceptance just as we are, demonstrated the power of forgiveness, inspired us to generosity, encouraged us in compassion. These are the kinds of things we can bear witness to as followers of Christ. In the Greek of the New Testament the word for witness is “martus” from which our word martyr is derived. In others words, testifying to the place Jesus has in our hearts involves the giving whole of our lives. One other side bar: St. John reminds us that we are witnesses to Jesus not only by what we say but by how we live. Those who say, “I know him,” but do not keep his commandments are liars, and the truth is not in them. Let us use this Sunday as the occasion to commit ourselves to witnessing to Christ both in what we say and in what we do.
