The WORD in other words (2018) by Fr Joey Ruega SVD – Catholic Trade Manila
Thursday 7th Week in Ordinary Time
We are effective preachers and evangelizers if people see Jesus being mirrored in our day to day life, and that is “witnessing.” Witnessing is a response to the invitation of Christ to follow Him more closely and an authentic practice of one’s faith – a reverberation of the saying “walk the talk” when our actions substantiate our words.
St. James also reminds us that, “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17).Thus, failure to witness one’s faith causes scandal to others that might lead them to sin. This makes witnessing a challenge to our Christian faith.
Furthermore, witnessing is difficult because it entails sacrifice and determination to live an authentic Christ-centered life. Jesus emphasized the importance of avoiding temptation and any occasion of sin and the need to cooperate with God’s grace for us to grow in holiness and faith. Getting rid of the things that cause us to sin frees us from the bondage of temptation as well as gives us the freedom to do good things and give witness to Christ.
Consequently, we need to ask ourselves, “What causes us to sin?” Vices, worldly/carnal pleasures, and material objects are just some of the roots of our sins and make our faith dull, tasteless or insipid as what Jesus told His disciples in our gospel today.
Therefore, witnessing is maintaining the saltiness of our faith that makes our Christian life like that of Jesus.
We pray then that we remain steadfast in our commitment to following the Lord and giving witness to our faith that others may see Jesus in us and become witnesses themselves.
