As we go through this Easter Season we hear the disciples giving testimony and witness to the risen Lord. This was the primary way in which the early Christian faith spread and is how the faith continued to be spread for the next 2000 years. However, somehow as Catholics, we have become uncomfortable sharing our encounters with the Lord. 

In the Gospel for today the two disciples on the road to Emmaus encounter the risen Lord  - "weren't our hearts burning within us as he spoke to us along the way?" Finally, He was revealed to them in the breaking of the bread and disappeared without a trace. By this time it was night, but the disciples ran back to Jerusalem in the pitch black of night to share with the other disciples that they had encountered the Lord. It makes us consider, "Why don't I have that same enthusiasm to share with others what God has done for me? Why am I so ashamed, scared, or afraid of what others might think?"

This past Thursday we were at the Chamber of Commerce banquet and as I was getting a glass of wine and some water, one of the servers who I knew joked and said, "You should just turn that bottle of water into wine." Another of the servers replied, "Well, only Jesus can do that." And then a third person said to the second with all seriousness, "No, father is a priest, and at Mass he can change wine into the blood of Jesus." I was shocked by the testimony she gave...at the bar. It was a beautiful example of no matter what we are doing or where we are at, we have so many opportunities to give witness to what God has done for us. 

This brings us to deeply consider - What HAS God done for me? How have I experienced God, and how am I being called to share what God has done for me with others, so that they may come to believe and grow in their own relationship with God. The sharing is not about us, but about how great our God is. Let's prayerfully consider how we are called to give witness to what God has done for us this week.

Buen Camino,
Fr. Philip Brune