You Will Be My Witnesses

Jesus, Witness to the Father

A Christian is a disciple of Jesus. Consequently, they must be like him; act like Jesus, speak like Jesus, follow Jesus’ choices in life and adopt his way of life. In particular, Jesus bears witness to his Father. He bears witness to the Father’s love and mercy: ‘I speak what I have seen with my Father’ (Jn 8:38). In turn, he sends us forth. ‘As the Father has sent me, so I send you’ (Jn 20:21). Thus, before his Ascension, Jesus commands his disciples to be his witnesses.

‘You will be my witnesses’ (Acts 1:8), Jesus tells his disciples. It is this theme that the First African Synod adopted for evangelisation in the third millennium. The apostles were witnesses to Jesus. Saint Paul, on the road to Damascus, had an extraordinary encounter with Jesus. He fell from his horse and heard a voice: ‘It is I, Jesus, whom you are persecuting.’ ’ Following this event, Saint Paul’s life was transformed and he became a servant of Jesus. This experience left an indelible mark on Saint Paul’s life, and he never ceased to bear witness to it whenever he had the opportunity: (Acts 9:3–19; Acts 22:6–21; Acts 26:12–18). Saint Peter, too, bears witness to his experience of the Transfiguration (2 Peter 1:16–19). The other saints, following in the footsteps of the Apostles, proclaim their testimonies of life with Jesus. Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus is widely known because of her testimony—the testimony of her life. She wrote this down in her ‘autobiographical manuscripts’. There, she does not set out to give lessons as such. She speaks of her life with Jesus from childhood onwards. Many souls are helped through this testimony. If the African Synod, in this third millennium, encourages us to bear witness to Jesus, this is in keeping with the life of Jesus and that of the saints.

Being witnesses

It would be difficult to bear witness to one’s life if, in fact, there were nothing to bear witness to, or if experiences with Jesus were not clearly evident in one’s life. The witness we proclaim implies a change of life, or rather, a life lived with someone: Christ. Anyone who has a genuine experience of life with Jesus cannot continue to live the same life as before. There will be a ‘before’ and an ‘after’. Those who follow Jesus will have things to leave behind and new ways of behaving to adopt. For this reason, the Christian life is not easy. Jesus says that anyone who wants to follow him must take up their cross every day and follow him. A disciple of Jesus therefore has sacrifices to make: these are tangible renunciations that are often visible in their life. I, for one, have given up many things that were holding me back in my relationship with Jesus. And even those things that are good – if they do not enable me to love Jesus more deeply – I struggle to let them go. Sometimes it is those who call themselves Christians, who go to church, who, through the way they live, prevent others from loving God. Thus Pope Paul VI reminds us that we risk becoming obstacles to evangelisation (Evangelii nuntiandi). It also happens that our witness of life within the group or in our church community is not exemplary and does not effectively build up the community. Sometimes it even undermines it. In fact, we do not follow Jesus so that people may look at us and praise us, but if we are faithful to our calling, our transformation and our growth cannot go unnoticed. ‘No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel. But on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good deeds and give glory to your Father in heaven’ (Mt 5:14–16).

There are Christians who bear witness to a good life. These are people who make an effort to live out the Word of God, to change their lives and to become more and more like Jesus. But there are also those who are part of the Church, the community or a group, without the impact of the Word of God being reflected in their lives. At the very least, the efforts they make are very feeble and do not allow Jesus to enter fully into their lives. Consequently, they cannot even fully benefit from all the graces that Jesus offers them, He who nevertheless said: ‘Seek first the kingdom of heaven, and all these things will be given to you as well’. Let us seize the opportunity of this Easter season to grow as witnesses to Jesus. Jesus is alive. Alleluia!

Henri Bayemi