The Reality in Witness

The Power of Language Encapsulated In a Word

The average person speaks ten to twenty thousand words a day and hears twenty to thirty thousand. Considering this grandiose amount, choosing our words wisely, considering the power they hold, and reflecting on their meaning becomes deeply important. In our latest post, James O’Reilly provides a wonderful reflection on the written word to mark the one year anniversary of The Broken Binnacle in, “One Year Out at Sea”. I encourage you to take a few  minutes to read about our endeavor, our mission.

In my personal life I am nearing a landmark - the sacrament of matrimony! One thing that has continued to stand out to me is that the sacrament is not just worthy of having guests, but requires it. Yes, the sacrament requires witnesses as it is a covenant, with two consenting parties coming together before a Priest.¹ Therefore, a guest to the sacrament is not simply an observer, but has an obligation, a role. 

“Witness” is a word I believe should be reflected on further to understand its fundamental meaning and the action that accompanies it if absorbed intentionally. I will proceed by diving into the word’s etymology, its use in scripture, and its meaning in sacrament. 

Witness, throughout time, is closely tied to having knowledge or providing testimony.² The Greek word for witness, martus or matrureo, is also the root of the word martyr — those who died for their faith.³ Combining these two backgrounds shows that possessing knowledge means you must bear witness to the truth (or Truth), even to the point of death. The Hebrew for witness, sahed, closely relates to the Islamic, shahid, which is translated as “sacrifice”, adding additional weight to the word; one must even make a “sacrifice” of themselves for truth. 

The etymology provides excellent context for exegesis of several scriptural passages related to the reality signified by the word ‘witness’. As noted above, there is a close connection between witness and martyrdom, or sacrifice. In John 18:37, Pilate questions Jesus, “Then you are a king?” to which Christ replies, signifying and describing His ultimate sacrifice, “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to bear witness [or testify] to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Christ provides the ultimate example of a witness; a life of witness which he also calls us to. In Romans 9:1, Paul states, “I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie; my conscience joins with the Holy Spirit in bearing me witness”, which again associates witness to speaking the truth. Being a witness, or bearing witness requires action, it is not simply passive observance as seen in Acts 2:32. Peter says,

God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses. Exalted at the right hand of God, He received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father and poured it forth, as you (both) see and hear…For David did not go up into heaven, but he himself said ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” Therefore let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they asked Peter and the other apostles, “What are we to do, my brothers?” Peter [said] to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Here Peter shows clearly that the people's witness to Christ’s death and Resurrection requires immediate action: repentance and baptism.

Peter’s address in Acts provides a fitting transition into how the witness plays a part in the sacraments. In baptism, both the parents and godparents have a role as witnesses to the entrance of a new soul into the Church. The Catechism notes a role for everyone as an indirect witness, “The whole ecclesial community bears some responsibility for the development and safeguarding of the grace given at baptism.” In confirmation, the Catechism elaborates on each individual's role as witness , “For “by the sacrament of confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed.” The same concepts apply to holy orders since Priests follow the steps of disciples as Christ’s witnesses throughout the world. I’ve noted the role of witness in matrimony above, but conversely we are asked by the Church to use ‘prudential judgment’ in witnessing a marriage conducted outside of the Church. Interestingly, civil marriages, or natural marriages, do not require a witness, whereas a sacramental marriage, which is covenantal, not contractual, does require a witness.

As you can see, there is much that can be gained from reflecting on just a single, important word. Words hold meaning, hold power, and they are expressions of reality. Because of this we must be intentional with the words we use, and how we use them. As Josef Pieper would suggest, corrupting words is corrupting language itself.⁴ Being a Christian requires us to always be a witness to the truth, at all times and for all time. If words are an expression of reality, each word we choose requires that we be a witness. As the ultimate witness says, “Let your yes mean yes, and your no mean no.”

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“What is Truth?” - artist unknown

1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1623

2. Merriam-Webster: witness

3. Ezra Project : martus

4. Josef Pieper, Abuse of Language, Abuse of Power