You are My Witnesses
Being a witness and giving testimony is a theme that runs throughout both the old and new testaments and continues to our present day. “You are My Witnesses, says the Lord!” Without hesitation we can say that this sacred word, uttered from the mouth of the holy prophet Isaiah, was fulfilled definitively by the truest and most complete Witness of God: the Eternal Son, Logos, and God-Man, Jesus Christ. Yet, with equal conviction we can say that the Lord desires each of us, tiny and fragile as we are, to further His revelatory Presence in this world by being His witnesses.
This is one of the first commands that Jesus gives his disciples after His Resurrection, saying; “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even unto the uttermost parts of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) If we have eyes to see and ears to hear we will know that we are “surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses” (Heb. 12:1) and are beckoned to join their ranks and run the race set before us with boldness and joy. Being a clear witness and testifying to a living experience of God is not something for a few specialized Christians. Rather, it is a calling to which each person must respond after emerging from the baptismal waters and having received the “seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Finally, it is important to note that the word ‘witness’ comes from the Greek word martus, which is derived from marturia, or martyr in English. To be the Lord’s witness means being light, hope, joy, forgiveness, love, and all the other attributes of the God in the presence of pain and suffering in this world. It may also mean being ridiculed and persecuted, even put to death. Nevertheless, there is nothing more invigorating and thrilling than to be Christ’s witnesses in this world and to reveal His life to others. May the following testimonies be for the salvation of those who wrote them and for the upbuilding of all who receive their word!
In His peace,
Fr. John