Homily For Thursday Octave of Easter, 24th April 2025

 

Readings: Acts.3:11-26; Ps.8; Luke24:35-48

Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.

A CALL TO BEAR AUTHENTIC WITNESS OF GOD TO THE WORLD

Today, in a special way, Jesus appeared to his disciples, wishing them peace and commissioning them to bear witness to his resurrection. He commissioned his disciples with these words “You are witnesses to this”. And as we know a witness must be someone who has seen and experienced something and could testify to the facts of what he or she has seen.

So, the disciples had witnessed Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection and here comes the mission to witness this to the whole world and to proclaim reconciliation with God through Jesus. We, too, receive this commission of being his witnesses; through our baptism, we are incorporated into the Church to authentically bear witness to the faith we profess.

Dear friends, it is our task to carry on this mission of Christ throughout the whole world. If we do not, then the world will not hear Christ’s message of reconciliation, forgiveness and victory over sin and death, thereby making the world remain ignorant of what God has done for us, and the consequences of this ignorance are the root of the problems in our world today.

However, we can not bear effective witness unless we have a personal experience of the risen Lord. It is this personal experience that enables Peter to bear effective witness of Christ before the people, as we heard in our first reading today (Acts 3:11-26); we too can do the same when we experience the risen Lord personally in our lives.

LET US PRAY: Lord Jesus, let us once again experience you personally in our lives and give us the grace to bear authentic witness of your presence in the world, especially at this moment when the world is in a state of confusion not knowing what to do. Manifest your victorious power afresh in our lives, families, societies and the world at large. You who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. Have a fruitful day.