Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter

Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter                                                       April 15, 2018
Fr. Albert                                                                                            St. Peter’s, New Iberia

Christianity is on trial. The world is our courtroom and the whole human race is the Jury. The charge is simple: we claim that Jesus rose from the dead and that this means everyone should repent of their sins. And do you know where you are in this trial? The witness stand. Yes, every single Christian believer is testifying to this truth. But we are losing. The vast majority of humanity… about 5 billion people do not accept our claim. Worse, those who do claim to agree do not seem to think it’s worth an hour a week; Less than 50% of Catholics go to Mass.

Now, perhaps you take comfort in the fact that this world is going to end anyway, so what do you care if they disagree? After all, it’s really Jesus on trial, not you, you’re just a witness. There’s some truth there, but above and beyond the trial that the world holds against us, there is the final judge of all and He will judge you by the quality of your testimony.

The Apostles get it, too. Jesus tells them they are witnesses and they immediately recognize that he means it in a legal sense. So we see Peter openly proclaiming the truth and invoking this reality saying “of this we are all witnesses.” Most of them died for their testimony, for being a witness. Now, they are saints. But what about you? How strong is your testimony? It’s true that others have free will and we cannot convince everyone, but still… If you aren’t convinced of your own side, then how can you expect to convince others… to show your worth as a witness?

But wait, we’re missing something. How can we be witnesses like the Apostles? They actually witnessed Jesus after he rose, seeing him, touching him, feeding him, and hearing Scripture from his very lips. But then He ascended into heaven, taking all the best evidence – his resurrected body – along with him. How is it fair for God to ask us to be witnesses to something we’ve never actually witnessed?

Truly, no one alive today is a witness to the physical body of Christ like the Apostles were. But, by faith, you do have the opportunity to touch and see His mystical body. That is, you can become better witnesses by your experience of the Church, which is the mystical body of Christ. And we can even follow the same pattern we see here in the Gospel with 6 basic steps: Hearing Testimony, Conversation with Christ, Experience of His wounds, A Meal, Scripture Study, and Conversion.

First, there is testimony when some disciples say they’ve seen Jesus. Knowing Christ starts with hearing about him from another. Who first introduced you to Jesus? How often do you listen to the testimony of others? If you want to be a witness – if you want to be a happy, holy Christian – then do not overlook this first step. Read the conversion stories of others. Give your family and friends time and attention when they speak about their experiences of Jesus.

Then, Jesus himself appears and greets the Apostles. “Peace be with you.” Every time you come to Mass, the priest greets you in a similar way; “The Lord be with you” is a greeting, a spiritual “hello,” which is why I don’t say “good morning” after that. At that moment, the priest is acting in persona Christi, meaning it’s really Jesus greeting you, not just Fr. Albert. Do you gloss over this greeting? Do you respond without realizing that Jesus is speaking to you and you to Him?

Third, Jesus responds to their questions by offering them an experience of himself. Do you even have questions about the faith? About what Jesus Christ is doing in your life? Jesus shows his wounds to the Apostles, but we can see the wounds of Christ too, especially in those Christians who suffer for their faith. Do you know that more Christians were martyred between 1900 and 2000 than in every other century combined? Do you know how many people are being persecuted and killed for their faith at this very moment? You have doubts? Then learn confidence from those who die for what it is you question.

Next, we have Christ eating to prove he is no ghost. People who claim to be “spiritual but not religious” are falling into the trap of seeing Jesus as a ghost. But he has a body and that body is the Church. To embrace Christ, we must embrace his Church. And, as with our bodies, food is necessary for survival. Thus, we have the Eucharist feeding the whole Church. Not only that, but look at how many people the Church feeds with ordinary food around the world. We are still the largest charity in the world. Dine with Christ in the Eucharist and dine with Him by feeding the hungry.

Then we have bible study led by Jesus Himself, teaching scripture to the Apostles. We read scripture at every Mass and have that scripture explained to us, at least when we priests do what we’re supposed to. Do you really listen to the readings? Are you even listening to me? And if the homily is not the best – sometimes it’s not – do you look for other ways to understand? Bible studies, Catholic books and websites, audio recordings. If you’re not getting answers here, nothing is stopping you from finding those answers from other parts of the body of Christ, from other places in the Church

And finally, we come to the point: Conversion. Knowing Christ means keeping his commandments, but we often fall short. So, do you go to confession at least once a year? That’s the minimum, but there’s no reason not to go once a month or even every week. If you know Christ and you know your sins, why keep them to yourself? If you want to make the world a better place, start with yourself in confession. Only a regular experience of God’s mercy for us personally will make us effective witnesses to God’s mercy for others.

Your whole life is lived on a witness stand and the testimony you give will affect not only your soul, but the souls of all who have seen your testimony or who could have seen it. If Christ calls his disciples witnesses, but we do not live like witnesses, what does that make us?

Do not give that question a chance to be answered. Become a witness by Hearing Testimony, Conversation with Christ, Experience of His wounds, A Meal, Scripture Study, and finally Conversion. If you are not yet a witness, just what, exactly, are you waiting for?