Will You Be A Witness?
Posted on Apr 19, 2015 by David Whetter
Grace and peace to you from God our Creator, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, who abides in which of us. Amen
OK, I know Easter Sunday was two weeks ago, but in our readings, we are still reading about what happened on that first Easter Sunday. So, let me give you a little timeline of events here. First, early in the morning, according to all the Gospels, several of the woman headed to the tomb to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. Now, each of the Gospel writers mentions various women who went to the tomb, but the one all four of the Gospels mention is Mary Magdalene. Now the other consistent part of the first event on Easter morning is that when the women arrived at the tomb, it was open and Jesus’ body was gone. Also, in each case, the women encounter someone who tells them Jesus has risen and that they are to go tell the others. Now since we are reading from the Gospel of Luke today, we are told that when the women tell the disciples about what had happened, the others believed their story to be an “idle tale,” but Peter did run to the empty tomb, look in and then he returned amazed.
Now, Luke’s resurrection scene continues with an actual appearance by the risen Jesus. Later that day, Luke says, two of Jesus’ disciples, one of which we are told is Cleopas, were traveling to Emmaus and while they were walking and talking about what had happened, Jesus appeared to them, but they didn’t recognize Jesus. And as they continued to walk, Jesus interpreted all of the scriptures for them that are about him. Then, when they stopped for the evening, Jesus took the bread and blessed it as he had done at the Last Supper and in doing so, their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus and it was then that Luke says Jesus vanished.
Now it is now evening on that first Easter Sunday, and the two disciples have ran all the way back to Jerusalem to tell the eleven others what had happened and while they were discussing this, our story for today begins. Jesus appeared to them and said to all of them, “Peace be with you” (24:36). Wow! What a day!
The woman and Peter had witnessed the empty tomb. The women encountered two angels in “dazzling clothes” who informed them that Jesus had risen and instructed them to go tell the others. Then two other disciples actually talked and walked with the risen Jesus and now as this incredible day is coming to an end, and all the disciples are talking about the events of the day, apparently not sure they believe any of what they have been told; in that moment of questioning and doubt, Jesus showed up, but seeing the risen Christ caused them to be both startled and terrified.
I bet they were terrified! You know, it’s one thing to talk about the resurrected Jesus, but it’s a whole other thing to have him stand before you. We talk about the resurrected Jesus all the time, don’t we? I mean, here we are right now talking about him and that makes us feel good, but what would happen right now if Jesus showed up? What if our Lord, walked in and began to talk to us? What if he walked in and said, here, look at my wounds, it’s really me! No doubt, not only would be startled, but we, too, would be terrified.
But, why were the disciples terrified and why should we be terrified? Well, first of all, as I asked on Easter Sunday, we have to ask the question, “Do we believe this?” Personally, I think for many of us, we are not sure. For many of us, we might believe more that his “spirit” was resurrected through the telling of the stories, but not his physical body. But the truth is, according to all four Gospels, Jesus was physically raised from the dead. I know, it goes beyond anything logical our scientific, after all, the dead are supposed to remain dead. But, Jesus stood before them, showed them his wounds, spoke to the and even ate with them. It was no spirit!
And another reason for his followers to be terrified is that once we accept that his resurrection is real, then we have to accept everything else he said before his death and resurrection. You see, if resurrection is real that means his followers are to treat others, especially the marginalized, with love. If resurrection is real, that means we are to love each other unconditionally, forgive each other, care for each other, deny the ways of this world and have no other gods ruling in our lives. If the resurrection is real, that means Jesus’ command to live differently wasn’t just an idle tale; it was, and is, reality.
If Jesus’ resurrection is real, then feeding the poor, walking with the marginalized, freeing the oppressed, sharing the good news, witnessing to his life, death and resurrection are not optional for us. Being a witness for Jesus’ life, death and resurrection is not optional. As believers, as followers, as those who proclaim ourselves Christian we are not to remain silent and Jesus says so. No wonder we are terrified! It’s hard enough for us to witness to our faith here in church, let alone out in the world. Being a witness is scary!
But you might be assaying, “I don’t want to be a witness.” But, according to Jesus, that is not an option. As Jesus proclaimed and explained God’s Word to the disciples that first Easter night, he said, “You are witnesses of these things” (24:48). Jesus didn’t say I want you to think about being witnesses. He didn’t say consider being witnesses. No, he said you are witnesses. Followers of Jesus, even those who have not physically seen the risen Jesus, are to be those who tell the story, speak the truth and share the good news. Specifically, Jesus says we are to proclaim the “repentance and forgiveness of sin” (24:47). Or more literally, we witnesses are to challenge the world to change their ways to ways that lead to forgiveness of sin.
We Lutherans struggle with talking about our faith, because we love to proclaim that faith is private. But the faith Jesus speaks of; the faith we are gifted with by the Holy Spirit is not a private faith. Oh, it is personal, but it is not private! As people of faith, we are called to publically share our story. We are called to witness to Christ’s presence in all situations. We are called to speak out and seek change when we see individuals or groups of people being marginalized, or taken advantage of. We are to be witnessed to the truth that Jesus is Lord.
I don’t know about you, but that terrifies me. The world is filled with injustice today, isn’t it? There is income inequality, racism, sexism, homelessness, inequality of education, inequality between urban and suburban communities, and so many more. As followers of Jesus we cannot turn a blind eye to these things. We are witnesses to these things and we are to be witnesses to the truth that our Lord seeks change for all.
So, today, on this third Sunday in the Season of Easter, the questions is, “Will you be a witness?” I pray you will. Amen