Luke 24:44-49
Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
There is much here, as in so many of the passages of the gospel, that we could dwell on. The way in which Jesus fulfills the words of the law and the prophets. In what way the cross is necessary. The importance of and relationship between repentance and forgiveness. The promise of the Holy Spirit. And more.
We have touched on many of these things before and could do so again. But just now what strikes me is Jesus’ statement that “You are witnesses to these things.”
Witnesses are those persons who have seen and experienced something. But that’s only the first half of the matter. Witnesses are also those who are called upon to tell what they have seen.
We also, I think, are called to be witnesses. Which makes some of us nervous, even afraid. We aren’t sure what, exactly, it is we are supposed to have seen or experienced. Or we aren’t sure we could put it into words. Or we don’t want to seem pushy about our faith. Or we aren’t sure our testimony would be welcome.
There is a scene in Leif Enger’s Peace Like a River that gets at some of these fears and concerns. Reuben Land, a young boy in story, is reflecting on something rather miraculous in his life when he recalls this words of his sister:
My sister, Swede, who often sees to the nub, offered this: People fear miracles because they fear being changed – though ignoring them will change you also. Swede said another thing, too, and it rang in me like a bell: No miracle happens without a witness. Someone to declare, Here’s what I saw. Here’s how it went. Make of it what you will.
Is that why we are nervous to bear witness to God in our lives? Because we fear being changed? Or perhaps we are convinced we have no capacity to bear faithful and fitting witness? Yet Jesus’ words are clear. We are called to be witnesses to the activity of God in our lives, both mundane and miraculous. And when push comes to shove, that means that all we really have to say is this: Here’s what I saw. Here’s how it went. Make of it what you will.
Prayer: Dear God, give us open eyes to perceive your presence and bold hearts to bear witness to it to those around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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