Living Witnesses of the Risen One

If we live his Word… keeping love for our neighbor alive in our hearts, living always mutual love among us, then the Risen One will live in and among us. He will radiate his light and grace around us, transforming our surroundings and producing incalculable fruits.

“With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God‘s grace was so powerfully at work in them all.” (Acts 4:33)

This Word of Life, which comes during the Easter season, invites everyone who has received the message of the Gospel to respond freely and to give witness to the resurrection of Jesus!

To fully understand the meaning of this verse taken from the Acts of the Apostles, it is helpful to quote the sentence that precedes it: “The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common.” 1

“With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God‘s grace was so powerfully at work in them all.”

The text describes the first Christian community filled with the power of the Spirit and characterized by a sense of fellowship that urges each member to proclaim to everyone the good news, namely, that Christ is risen.

These are the same people who before Pentecost were frightened and shaken up by the events that had taken place but had now come out into the open and ready to bear witness even to the point of martyrdom. This was, thanks to the power of the Spirit, what swept away fear and apprehension.

They were one heart and one soul; they practiced mutual love to the point of sharing their possessions, and this way of life was involving an ever-increasing number of people.

Women and men had followed Jesus and heard his words. They had lived alongside Him, loving and serving the sick and those regarded as the least in society. They had seen the wondrous deeds of Jesus with their own eyes, and their lives had changed because they had been called to live according to his new law. They had been the first witnesses of God’s living presence among men and women.

But what does it mean for followers of Jesus to be witnesses today?

“With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God‘s grace was so powerfully at work in them all.”

The most effective way to bear witness to the Risen One is to show that He is alive and lives among us. “If we live his Word, […] keeping love for our neighbor alive in our hearts, if we strive in a special way to always keep mutual love at the basis of our relationships, then the Risen One will live in and among us. He will radiate his light and grace around us, transforming our surroundings and producing incalculable fruits. Through his Spirit, he will guide our steps and actions, and create opportunities for us to share his life with people who are in need of him.” 2

“With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God‘s grace was so powerfully at work in them all.”

Margaret Karram3 writes: “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” 4 is the extraordinary task the apostles received directly from Jesus 2,000 years ago, and that changed the course of history. Today Jesus addresses the same invitation to us so that we can bring him into the world. He offers us the opportunity to do so using all the creativity, talents and freedom He himself has given us.” 5

It’s a proclamation “that does not end with his death. On the contrary, it takes on new strength after the Resurrection and Pentecost, where the disciples became courageous witnesses of the Gospel. And their mandate, then, comes down to us today. Through me, through each of us, God wants to continue to tell his story of love to those with whom we share short or long periods of our life.” 6

Patrizia Mazzola and the Word of Life team

1 Acts 4.32.

2 C. Lubich, Word of Life, January 1986.

3 President of the Focolare Movement.

4 Mark 16:15.

5 Margaret Karram, We Are Called and We Are Sent, Rocca di Papa, September 15, 2023.

6 Ibid.