HOMILY FOR SUNDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF EASTER, YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: LIVING WITNESSES
BY: Fr. Andrew Ekpenyong
1. Justice Joke. Witnesses are important in courts, so let’s start with a court joke. Judge: “Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?” Defendant: “No, Your Honor. This is how I dress when I go to work!” Generally, in secular law courts, without going into technicalities, we have different categories of witnesses. (1) A “Lay Witness” or Fact Witness — the most common type — is a person who watched certain events and describes what he/she saw, heard, said or did. (2) An “Expert Witness” is a specialist — who uses their technical knowledge, experience, skills, and expert methodologies to form their opinions on the case. (3) A “Character Witness” is someone who knew the victim, the defendant, or other people involved in the case. Character Witnesses usually don’t see the crime take place but they can be very helpful in a case because they know the personality of the defendant or victim, or what type of person the defendant or victim was before the crime. Neighbors, friends, family, and clergy are often used as character witnesses. Sisters and Brothers, all three Scripture readings today invoke witnesses, with our Lord Jesus Christ even proclaiming: “You are witnesses to these things” (Lk 24:48). Today, are there witnesses to the Resurrection? What kinds of witnesses are they? Are there living witnesses to God’s love and mercy in through the Risen Christ?
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2. The Apostles. Lay witnesses or fact witnesses are eyewitnesses or percipient witnesses. They saw and heard. The Apostles belong to this group. St Peter in today‘s first reading (Acts 3:13-15, 17-19) spoke to the people after the Resurrection of Christ, as a witness not to make them face justice but to make them receive God’s mercy: “You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. The author of life you put to death, but God raised him from the dead; of this we are witnesses. Now I know, brothers, that you acted out of ignorance, just as your leaders did…. Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away.” St John was also an eye witness who in today‘s 2nd reading (1 Jn 2:1-5a) emphasized that following the “crime scene” is not the search for justice but the outpouring of God’s mercy for those who believe and repent. He writes: “…if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.” In today’s Gospel reading (Lk 24:35-48), our Lord makes the Apostles “eye witnesses” of the Resurrection because he showed them His risen body. He also made them “expert witnesses” because he “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures”, that is, to have special knowledge, revelation. Finally, our Lord made the disciples “character witnesses” because He reminded them of the words He spoke to them before His passion, death and resurrection, He reminded them of His companionship with them.
3. You and me. Now it is our turn. What sort of witnesses are we? Through Baptism, through the Eucharist, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us, our Lord has made us not just “eye witnesses” of past events but living witnesses who experience here and now the effects of His Resurrection, the forgiviness of our sins. We now have the duty to preach repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, in His name, to all the nations. Through prayer, we become “character witnesses” because prayer activates our companionship with Him. Finally, even now, our Lord makes us faithful “expert witnesses” as He continues to “open our minds to understand the Scriptures”, to open our hearts to love Him in our neighbours, to open our eyes to see Him in the poor, to open our hands to share with those in need. We particularly thank Him for bringing many to the Catholic faith all over the world, during Easter Vigil Masses this year, 2024. Over 12,000, including 5000 teenagers were baptised in France alone. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles here in the US had 2,075 baptisms, breaking an 8-year record of 1, 508 in 2016. The Archdiocese of Sydney in Australia had a 60% increase compared to 2021. Agenzia Fides reports similar increases in Shangai, Beijing, Ningbo and other cities in China. These new conversions are due to the Holy Spirit, working through ordinary people as living witnesses, ordinary people like yourself. Thank you so much for being a living witness to God’s love and mercy. As Pope St Paul VI, the Pope of Humanae Vitae, reminded us: “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” (Evangelii nuntiandi, no. 41). What a privilege to be living witnesses of God’s love and mercy, living witnesses of life in the Risen Christ!
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