SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER YEAR B (WE WITNESS WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT) 2024
We witness with the Holy Spirit
I would like to begin by saying that we are called to bear witness to the truth that Jesus is risen (Resurrection) and is Lord. And the Holy Spirit strengthens our faithfulness, especially in the face of trials so that our faithfulness becomes a witness to the world.
“You too will be my witnesses because you have been with me” says Jesus (John 15: 27). Christian witnessing proceeds from a personal relationship with Christ. This explains why the disciples needed someone who had encountered Jesus to be Judas’ replacement and bear witness with them. The point here is that. Our encounter with Jesus is the conviction behind our witnessing.
However, the Holy Spirit is the One who makes possible our encounter with Jesus and teaches us to live in God through love. “He who lives in love lives in God” (1 John 4:11-16). In loving others, we become co-witnesses with the Holy Spirit.
As a people who are not of this world as Jesus says in today’s Gospel, we do not live by the principles of the world but by the heavenly kingdom principle of Truth. And this means that sometimes, we may suffer hostilities because of our witnessing. Should these hostilities surprise us? No, they should not at all, because those hostilities and persecutions are often signs of the authenticity and impact of our witnessing to the world. But then we take courage in Jesus’ unfailing priestly prayer in today’s Gospel of John 17, which commends us to God for our protection and consecrates us in the truth. We should be confident in that High priestly unfailing prayer of Jesus to our Eternal Father and God.
Therefore, let us pray for the Holy Spirit, Our Co-witness, especially as we prepare for the Pentecost, that we may experience a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit and so courageously and with conviction bear witness that Jesus Christ is Lord. We make our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
The Lord be with you.
May Almighty God bless you, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen
God in peace and Happy Sunday
