Witness - Rev Allister Lane
SERMON ON 18 APRIL 2021
READINGS: MATTHEW 5: 11-16 AND ACTS 3: 12-15
What does it mean to be a ‘witness’? Our second reading this morning concluded with Peter’s words:
To this we are witnesses. (v15)
“To this…” What is ‘this’? (the death and resurrection of Jesus)
They are ‘witnesses’ both in the sense of eyewitnesses to the historical events of Jesus being killed and raised, AND in the sense that they lived lives that expressed the faith they had in the meaning of these events.
Their lives were a witness that displayed their faith. his is what Peter and the disciples recognised and proclaimed early on, they are witnesses to what has happened, and witnesses to what is happening.
I want us to hear from two Kiwis, who have both recently stood up as witnesses to Jesus.
Christopher Luxon, the former CEO of Air New Zealand, and was elected a Member of Parliament at the last election. Here is part of his maiden speech to Parliament, where he expresses his Christian faith:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/124647071/exair-nz-ceo-christopher-luxon-gives-maiden-speech-to-parliament-defends-his-christianity
That’s a politician witnessing to his faith.
And also witnessing to his faith, I heard a musician on Good Friday interviewed on National Radio – Dave Dobbyn (SIR Dave!)
https://www.rnz.co.nz/audio/player?audio_id=2018789880# (11:49 – 13:51min)
Did you hear what Sir Dave said there?
it comes with the territory that you’re going to be persecuted – because he was; it comes with the territory that you’re going to suffer – cos he suffered. The God of all things suffered.
Is THAT what you think it is to be a ‘witness’…?
In John’s Gospel, Jesus warns his disciples of what was to come:
the world hates me, so the world will hate you.
they persecuted me, they will persecute you. (John 15)
This warning of persecution-to-come is given to prepare the disciples (to prepare us). We hear this in the first reading this morning, from Matthew’s Gospel
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. (v11)
Jesus is saying that there will be blessing for those who will experience persecution (and we’ll need the blessing!) But, pay attention to what Jesus says… the blessing is only when the persecution is ‘on my account’.
You don’t receive a blessing if you’re persecuted for being obnoxious. Some Christians make big deal of the persecution they receive, claiming it’s because of their strong faith and witness – when it’s really because they are jerks! Jesus doesn’t want us to be obnoxious.
What sort of witness does Jesus want…?
He tells us. Firstly, there is the witness of salt.
You are the salt of the earth (v13)
Today when we say someone’s ‘Salt of the earth’ we mean they are especially good. But the way Jesus used this, is a statement not about reputation, but about function.
‘The Message’ paraphrase expresses this well:
Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?
The witness of salt is the pouring out of God’s love to ‘spice up’ the world.
Secondly, there is the witness of light.
You are the light of the world (v14)
Christians are the light of the world... this witness is about visibility. Our lives are a witness of visible hope and joy for the world. And what is the content of this hope and joy? The Resurrection is at the centre.
In the midst of a global pandemic, we can have confidence in our witness: the resurrection of Jesus means that Christian hope is not vague optimism or wish-fulfilment but a real, concrete thing.
Death is not a broken world’s last sneering laugh, rather the power of death has been broken because of the new life through Jesus.
This hope animates us in the middle of the sufferings of life. Jesus experienced human suffering (recall his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane), but because of his suffering commitment to us, we are not alone, we are being rescued – and our witness is to offer this rescue to others.
A city built on a hill cannot be hidden
It shines for all to see, a beacon of hope in the darkness. The witness of light is a beacon of hope in the darkness. Martin Luther King Jr. said
Some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak.
“Oh, Allister, why are you going back to the persecution thing again…?” I said a moment ago that we receive no blessing for being persecuted for our own character flaws; there is also no blessing in not being persecuted at all; if we are too cowardly to offer our witness.
To be a witness, Jesus is saying you not only need to speak the truth, it’s about also living differently. Our witness is visible.
A city of a hill is a light that is seen.
That will stir up persecution. But Jesus says it will also attract people. At the end of this passage about salt and light Jesus says some will be drawn to God:
let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. (v16)
Our witness is to the wonder of the resurrection. And our witness is about action.
let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
So how do we do it? How do we move from cowardly self-protection, and offer an authentic witness to the wonder of the resurrection?
I’m still working this out myself, but I want to conclude this sermon by suggesting ways we can activate our witness.
Firstly, as a church community, and
Secondly, wherever each of us work, study and live.
We witness to the wonder of the resurrection as a church in our regular patterns of worship and mission. We use these words of scripture every time we celebrate the meal of Communion:
Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you proclaim the saving death of the risen Lord until he comes.
This is our witness.
Do you remember another way Jesus said we activate our witness as a Church…?
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35)
We witness to the wonder of the resurrection wherever each of us work, study and live.
Resurrection life first appeared in the workplace – as Mary and the other women were going to do their job of anointing the body. (Mark 16)
And then to the disciples fishing on the lake. (John 21)
Sadly, many workplaces are inhospitable to spiritual growth. The workplace is not where we wonder very much. Wonder is prohibited almost as an unwritten policy of the workplace.
We can activate our witness where we work and study by living everyday as salt and light – living every moment with love, hope, truth-telling, hospitality, …manaakitanga – extending respect, humility, kindness and honesty.
Also, we can activate our witness away from where we work and study – but in a pattern that is complementary: by Sabbath-keeping. Sabbath-keeping is VERY old fashioned, but this radically counter-cultural action can be part of our witness. Deliberately doing different things on Sundays means we live with a distinctive (and visible) rhythm. We take ourselves away from the pressures, demands, and idols of work and study.
Eugene Peterson (The Message) says this about Sabbath-keeping (p45-46)
Sabbath is not primarily about us or how it benefits us… Sabbath means stopping and being quiet long enough to see, open-eyed with wonder – resurrection wonder.
These are just some of the ways we can activate our witness, as the gathered Church community and wherever we work, study and live.
May we be attentive to where and how we activate our witness to the resurrection life.