Saint Frances Cabrini Parish

Father Kleppner - April 26, 2009
As we celebrate the Third Sunday of Easter, the following reflection by Patricia Datchuck Sánchez speaks to how we are called as witnesses of Jesus to be creative, constant and conspicuous. Even before we utter a word, our demeanor with regard to all things and all persons should speak volumes about our care and respect and about our devotion and dedication in all things great and small.
Credible, Caring Witnesses
Acts 3: 13-15, 17-19, Ps 4; 1 John 2: 1-5, Luke 24: 35-48
In the 1985 movie “Witness”, an 8-year-old Amish boy named Samuel Lapp witnesses a murder in a Philadelphia train station bathroom. Because of what he has seen, the boy, his mother and the detective who was wounded while trying to protect them are forced to flee from the murderers. Having witnessed a death, their own lives will be endangered until the criminals are brought to justice. In order to survive, they hide out in plain sight within a rural Amish community.
Witnessing of another sort is featured in today’s readings. Rather than be witnesses only of the death of their Lord and friend, the disciples were called to witness to his life. Like the young Samuel Lapp, the witnessing of those first believers put their lives in danger.
Charged by the risen Lord to bear authentic witness to the suffering, dying and rising of Jesus and to the forgiveness and salvation that have been made available to all sinners through him (Lucan Gospel), the disciples offered brave and bold testimony (Acts). While they had previously been reluctant to raise their voices in public or to attract attention to their association with Jesus, their experience of him as risen made them fearless witnesses. By virtue of that witness, their numbers grew along with their realization that Christ died not just for their sins or only for the sins of the Jews “but for those of the whole world” (1 John).
This realization of the universal love and saving concern of God required those earliest witnesses to Jesus to set aside their fears and suspicions as well as their preferences and preconceptions in order to witness to all without exception. Their universal witness also demanded a willingness to learn other languages, to appreciate other cultures and to value and reverence the differences of others.
Adaptability and accommodation became the order of the day as those first witnesses remembered how Jesus had loved and moved among them. Rather than attach himself to any known institution or set up a permanent base of operations, Jesus had an agenda that was determined by the needs of those he had come to serve. For that reason, every place became a venue wherein Jesus would witness to the love of God. In doing so, he extended the tender mercies of God to all human persons without distinction, nor was there a certain limited time frame in which Jesus offered his testimony; every moment of every day and night, whether convenient or inconvenient, whether planned or spontaneous, every moment was ripe with opportunity for the witness of his words and works.
As always, our reflection on Jesus and on those first followers, through whose witnessing we have come to believe, requires a look inward. Because we have the privilege and responsibility of continuing to testify to the dying and rising of Jesus, ours is a witness that must be true. Like Jesus’ witness, the witness we bear is to be creative, constant and conspicuous. Even before we utter a word, our demeanor with regard to all things and all persons should speak volumes about our care and respect and about our devotion and dedication in all things great and small. On this quality of Christian witness, Thomas Merton once said, “A saint preaches sermons by the way he walks and the way he stands. . . the way he picks things up and holds them in his hands.” Merton also described a saint as “a window through which God’s mercy shines on the world and for this reason he strives to be holy in order that the goodness of God might not be obscured by any selfish act.” What Merton has said of saints could also be said of witnesses to the person and mission of Jesus.
Every action, at every moment, is to reveal the heart of the one who acts. Every action witnesses to the faith that motivates and inspires it. It follows then that every word must clarify and not contradict the actions that define and identify us as Christ’s disciples. When our manner of witnessing becomes a way of life, and when our manner of living becomes itself a credible witness, then will we be able to offer the worthy testimony that will enable others to recognize and accept the truth of the Good News by which we are saved.

Patricia Sánchez holds a master's degree in literature and religion of the Bible from a joint degree program at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary in New York.

A Pennsylvania Charitable Trust

115 Trinity Drive
Center Twp., Aliquippa, PA 15001 724-775-6363 Phone
724-775-3848 Fax

www.sfcabriniparish.org