You are witnesses of these things

Gospel Thoughts*

*Easter Season : Thursday*

*GOSPEL - Lk 24:35-48*

*First Reading - Acts 3:11-26*

*You are witnesses of these things* 

*Am I ready to bear witness to the following things?*

*1) On becoming the Witnesses of the Lord*

The last sentence of today's Gospel is very powerful and relevant to our life 

All the things Jesus preached and practiced in His life are to be taken by His disciples now on-words 

We have been given a special responsibility to become witness to the values of Christ, by practicing them in our lives 

So it is very important to meditate these words *You are witnesses of these things*

The following are the some of the important things to which we must bear witness

*2) To communicate the Peace of the Risen Lord*

The first Word of the Risen Lord is *Peace be with you*

The peace of the Risen Lord is given to us, in order to communicate the same 

So first of all we should bear witness to Peace or We are the witnesses of Peace. 

Is my life a witness to peace or Not?

*3) Witnesses of the Risen Lord*

All of us are called to become the witnesses of the Risen Lord 

First of all firmly believing and living in the values of Christ we become the witnesses of the Risen Lord

Secondly by supporting the mission of the Lord to build the Kingdom of God, we become the witnesses of the Risen Lord 

*4) Message of the Repentance*

Jesus started His mission with this particular concept *repentance*

Jesus preached the same throughout His public ministry

Now after the resurrection Jesus speaks the same message and asks us to become the witnesses of repentance 

So the message of repentance or change of life becomes one of the important aspects of Jesus' ministry

*5) Message of Forgiveness*

The power of forgiveness is tremendous

It can change a person from any situation and can leave a deep rooted influence on his/her life 

Jesus forgave even from the Cross, those who crucified Him,  which has left a tremendous influence on the entire human kind and even today people see this gesture with great value

The same Risen Lord is asking us to become the witnesses of this forgiveness and to show the power of forgiveness to the entire world

Am I ready? 

*6) Witnesses to His Name*

In doing the mission there is no selfish intention involved here

One can't do these things for self glory. Everything has to be done in the name of Jesus or to bring glory to the name of Jesus 

So we should bear witness to the name of Jesus. In everything Jesus' name must be glorified 

My mission is to bear witness to the name of Jesus 

*7) To begin the mission from Jerusalem*

First of all we must know that where is my Jerusalem?

We can say that my Jerusalem is my own life, my own family, my own neighborhood, my own ward, and my own parish 

These are the places which represent my Jerusalem

We are called to begin the mission of bearing witness to Christ from these places 

Preaching of the Good News of the Risen Lord from these places is very important in my life 

The very fact I preach and practice the values of Jesus in these places (Jerusalem) my life becomes a powerful witness to the Risen Lord

*Think about it*

*God bless you and your family. Praying for you and your dear ones*

*Fr Maxim Dsouza*

*Jeppu Seminary*

*Mangalore*