Witness to the Risen Lord (Homily Excerpts-3rd Sunday Easter Season)

Most of you know I retired a little over one year ago from the Caddo Parish Clerk's Office.  For the first year or two as a deputy clerk, I would go to court.  I heard both domestic and civil cases.  I do not remember most of the cases I heard but one thing that will always stand out will be the witnesses.  I recall one case that dealt with a car wreck.  The case went to trial by judge to determine fault.  The witnesses were sequestered, which means they were not allowed to hear any testimony nor were they allowed to talk to the other witnesses.  When called to testify,  a deputy sheriff would bring that witness into the courtroom to give their testimony.

What made this case so interesting was not the trial but the witnesses.  They each saw different things.  Do not miss understand.  They all saw the wreck.  They were all witnesses to the wreck.  They also saw with their heart though.  One witness saw a mother worried about her child in the back seat.  Another witness saw the driver looking at the damage to the vehicles while another witness noticed how the people gathered around the wreck.  The final witness mentioned how some people offered to help.  The one fact not disputed was that the wreck happened.  Each witness saw the wreck and testified to it but they also mentioned what was important in their hearts and thus what they thought would be important to us.

Today’s Gospel reading is similar to the experience of those witnesses of the wreck.  First recall last Sunday’s Gospel from the Gospel of John.  The Apostles have locked themselves, out of fear, in the upper room.  Jesus appears to the Apostles and shows them the nail mark on his hands and feet.  He greets them with “Peace be with you” and he disciples rejoiced.

Today, in the Gospel of Luck, we hear of the same event but from another point of view, through the eyes of a different witness.  The Apostles have locked themselves in the upper room.  Two disciples in the room are telling of their encounter with the risen Lord on the road to Emmaus.  Jesus appears and greats them with “Peace be with you.”  In today’s Gospel Jesus not only shows the disciples his hands and feet but tells the disciples that “Ghost do not have flesh and bones.”  Jesus then asks for something to eat.  It is implied that if Jesus were a ghost he would have no need to eat.
 

Each Gospel reading is a testimonial to the risen Lord.  We hear witnesses speak of it and by their very differences we know that the truth has been written down for us.  This truth written by the Gospel writers is inspired by the Holy Spirit.  All the disciples in the room witnessed the risen Lord.  It was the Holy Spirit that guided the writers of the Gospels to put down the words that future generations would need to hear.

Now we turn our attention to the first reading for further eyewitness testimony.  Our reading is from the Acts of the Apostles.  This scene takes place after the Resurrection and Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Peter has just healed a crippled man in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean.  He is speaking to the people about Jesus, the Holy and Righteous One.  How he was put to death but God raised him from the dead.  Peter then says “of this we are witnesses.” 

The disciples had hid themselves behind locked doors.  They were afraid.

What happened behind those locked doors?  The apostles had no reason to create a resurrection story.  There is no logical reason for them to make this up.  They would have known that to continue spreading the words of Jesus Christ could lead to their own death.  What did the disciples witness that changed Peter from a betrayer to one healing in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean? 

Peter and all the disciples in that locked room were more than just witnesses, they were also participants.  Jesus opened the hearts and minds of the disciples to the scriptures.  They finally understood that Jesus was the Messiah they were waiting for.  Jesus had commissioned the disciples.  There was too much joy to be held behind closed doors.  The disciples flung open the doors and began to preach to all the nations.

What decision are you going to make based on the eye witness testimony of the disciples?  Our first decision is to be witnesses ourselves of the Resurrected Jesus.  We witness by our life but to do this we must do as St. Peter says; we must repent and be converted.  To repent implies we have done wrong but it also means more than that.  If we continue to do the same wrongs we have not truly repented.  We can repent but our repentance must be followed by conversion.  Our lives must take on a new direction.  When we repent and convert the same thing should happen to us that happened to the disciples; we will want to fling open the doors and proclaim the Good News.

Pope Francis reminds us:

“that through baptism we are reborn to a new life of grace and we are called to be witnesses of the Gospel before the world.”

Pope Francis also tells us:

Be Christians and witness to the faith

in prayer, in works of charity, in promoting justice, in doing good.

We proclaim the Risen Lord not just in voice but in action.  Let our actions be our witness.  Feast at the table of the Risen Lord, let him live in us.  Follow God’s commandments.  Forgive others as God forgives us.  Be in prayer and continue the good work done in charity.  Fling open your doors with joy and proclaim the Good News.  He is risen, indeed!