“You are witnesses to these things.”
This week we read another account
of Jesus’ resurrection appearance, this time from the Evangelist Luke. Just like the other accounts we read in Mark
and John, the apostles react with terror, this time thinking that they were
seeing a ghost. However Jesus meets them
where they are at and gives them what they need in order to see that he was not
a ghost. Jesus invites disciples to
touch him and see that indeed he was flesh and bone. He shows them his hands and feet to prove
that yes, he did die while hanging on a cross.
The apostles reaction is bitter sweet, they are joyful that Jesus was
with them, yet they still couldn’t believe what they were witnessing. It hasn’t sunk in yet. They are flabbergasted.
“You are witnesses to these things.”
So Jesus asks them for something to
eat to prove to them that he was fully human even in his resurrected
state. They give him a piece of broiled
fish, which Jesus consumes. Then Jesus
reminds them that he had predicted his death and resurrection several times
before he was crucified. Suddenly it
begins to sink in for the apostles, it clicks, they start getting it, and
everything that Jesus had preached finally makes sense. “These
are the words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything
about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.”
(Luke 24:44) We can imagine that as the
apostles heard Jesus say this, their eyes get wide and they experience what
Oprah Winfrey calls the ah-ha moment.
But
Jesus doesn’t stop there, he gives the apostles their marching orders. They are to go out into the world and proclaim
to all the nations the good news of God’s grace freely given. That God raised Jesus from the dead on the
third day to show the world that death does not have the final word and that
God’s love will always prevail. And just
as the apostles were called to be a witness to the resurrection power of God,
we who are Christian are also called to be witnesses.
The
call to witness to the power of God in our lives can be quite intimidating,
especially in today’s world where talk of religion in certain settings is
discouraged and rightly so because in today’s pluralistic society we need to
respect the diversity of the different religious faiths around us. There is a fine line that we walk when we
share our faith because we want to show respect. The witness that Jesus is calling us to is in
sharing the gospel to help people love God and love their neighbor. Unfortunately there are those who have taken
this call to witness for the sole purpose of winning souls for Christ and
nothing else. Now let me unpack this for you by sharing two experiences where I
was on the receiving end of Christian witness.
When I was in
ninth grade I struggled to make my way through the treacherous waters of the
high school popularity pool. My father
was deceased just a year and my family was still deep in grief as we adjusted
to life without him. I was living in a
new family configuration, in a new neighborhood, going to new school and all
this without the trappings of popularity. I was awkward, bookish and shy…I
wasn’t interested in boys, makeup or clothes…I struggled to keep up with the
other students and in the end I was teased and bullied by my peers because I
didn’t fit in. Now there was an adult
who worked in the school office who took a special interest in me. Nancy
was a young woman who was the secretary to the two assistant principals. Because of her position, Nancy knew that kids were getting sent to the
principal’s office for harassing me. So
she took me under her wing because she could see that I was struggling. At that time I thought Nancy had it all. I knew that she used to be a cheerleader in
high school, that she was married to her quarterback high school sweetheart and
that they lived in a small bungalow in the city with a big back yard and a
dog. I was thrilled when one day she
invited me to her home so we could have lunch together.
I
had thought that it was going to be a friendly visit, but I was wrong. After we ate, she plopped a bunch of books
and a Bible in front of me. She opened
the Bible and told me to read the verse that she was pointing to. I read it reluctantly. Then she opened one of the books and had me
read a passage that essentially said that if I took Jesus Christ into my heart
and became born again that my life would magically change and that I would get
everything that I desired. This text
implied that the struggles that I was experiencing were due to my unwillingness
to become a “true Christian.” It didn’t
matter that I was raised Catholic.
My
friend went on to tell me that when she was in high school, she became born
again and that all she had to do was pray and God would give her what she
wanted because she was on the true path of faith. When she prayed to God to make her popular,
she became popular, that when she prayed to God to make her a cheerleader, God
put her on the cheerleading squad, when she prayed to God to be able to date
the quarterback, God handed him over to her.
I felt broadsided by her Christian witness. I didn’t feel like she understood what I was
going through. Her profession of faith
felt like a conversation stopper. While
I know that her intentions were good, I felt even more alone after our meeting
because she was disappointed that I had my doubts that her magical God would
make all of my struggles disappear if I just became born again.
Now
many years I experienced another kind of Christian witness from my dear friend
John. We went to college together and a
few years after we had graduated from college, my life had hit rock
bottom. John had heard I was struggling
and asked me to go out to lunch with him.
During lunch he told me how much I meant to him, how our relationship
had helped him through struggles of his own and that he wanted to be there for
me just like I had for him. He told me
about this wonderful church that he found, that had helped him sort out his
spirituality. He talked about how this
UCC church had changed his life by giving him a beloved community to be a part
of. He then invited me to go to church
with him some Sunday when I was free. I
politely turned him down, thinking that church was the last thing I needed in
the midst of my struggles. But John
gently pushed, he offered to drive me there and drive me back. I again declined but he pressed on. He offered to take me out to lunch his treat
after church. Well, that got me because
we all know that I’ll do anything for a free meal.
So
that Sunday we went to Spirit of the Lakes, UCC, a just peace, open and
affirming church whose members were predominantly gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender. Like the disciples in the
presence of the risen Christ, I felt joy while sitting in the sanctuary, but I
also had disbelief and wondering. Could
this be real, my whole life I struggled with my faith because of my sexuality
and now here I am worshiping God in a roomful of gay people. And then came communion, as the pastor broke
the bread and lifted the cup, I could feel Christ’s presence at the table. When the pastor invited us to the table with
these words, “All are welcome to share in this bread and this cup, because
Christ is the host, Christ sets the table, and Christ welcomes all.” I finally
got it, I had my ah-ha moment, I realized that I was and always will be a
beloved child of God.
Being
a witness to the resurrected Christ is not about shoving our faith down
someone’s throat or promising them a magical solution to all their
struggles. It’s simply sharing others
where you think God is working in your life and in your world. (1) Bearing witness means meeting people where
they are at and sharing the good news in a way they can hear it. Bearing witness is extending an extravagant
welcome to others to join us in this community of faith where they can be witnesses
the transformative power of God’s love and grace within in the life of this
congregation. We have seen the power of
resurrection in our lives and we are called to be witnesses to these
things. May it be so. Amen.
(1) David Lose "Witnesses" www.workingpreacher.org/dear_wp.aspx?article_id=579
2 comments:
Lovely. Your stories are so relatable.
Lovely. Your stories are so relatable.
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