HOMILY FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR B
HOMILY FOR THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: BE WITNESSES TO THE GOSPEL
BY: Fr. Benny Tuazon
In the day’s Gospel the risen Jesus again appeared to His apostles who were still grappling with the events that had transpired. They were still reeling from His death and confused about the news of His appearances to some disciples. As a further testimony to the truth of His resurrection, He asked for something to eat. Incidentally, all of the appearances of the risen Lord will include a meal. The meal played big part in Jesus’ ministry. The meal will be the milieu of the bloodless saving action of Jesus. Jesus was recognized by the apostles through a meal. Jesus reminded them of what He had said during His ministry. The apostles were witnesses to everything He said and did.
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We are not only beneficiaries of the resurrection. We are expected to witness to it through what the apostles heard and saw in the Lord Jesus. Witnessing is not only preaching through oral proclamation. It ought to be complimented with living the the Word of God. In the same way that the apostles were drawn to Jesus by His words and actions, they, too, were expected to transmit the faith Jesus had given by their lives. These deposits of faith were handed on to us from generation to generation. The Church, led by the pope, bishops, priests, and the lay faithful were given these responsibilities. Through the years, from different cultures and people, the same deposit of faith was enfleshed. The Church was careful never to dilute it, and worse, change it. If it was revealed by the Lord, it should be believed and lived.
Human situation attests to the importance of witnessing. Courts rely on authentic witnesses. Children depend not heir parents and elders as to how life must be lived. Not everything is accessible to us. Not everything can be known and understood by us. We turn to experts in specific fields without prejudice to our own capacity. Lawyers for law, doctors for medicine, teachers for basic learnings, engineers for constructions, priests for doctrines, etc. The more authentic are witnesses, the more they influence. Jesus was the perfect witness. He is the Word of God made flesh. He literally lived the Word of God.
Today we need more witnesses, more than teachers. Beautiful words are good. But they need to be lived. Social media had made us comfortable with liking, sharing, and expressing our ideals by posting. They do accomplish something. But they give us the wrong impression that by liking, sharing, and posting, we have done our responsibility. Not by a long shot. At most, we have informed some people. What is needed is to act, to live what we believe. That is witnessing.
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