Well, I look a little foolish, don't I, standing here agape, gazing into the
sky? But isn't that what we come here to do on Sundays? Aren't we here to look
up to heaven to see if we might spot Jesus? Even if he's disappeared from our
sight, don't we come here and try to find him, sort of like a spiritual Where's
Waldo? We figure, Jesus must be here some place, and if we only look hard
enough. But he can be hard to see on a Sunday morning in May. Where's Jesus?
Oh, sometimes when we can't look up and see Jesus, we look back to find him in
the past. Our thoughts linger on better days in our spiritual journey: a time
when the pews were full and the crowds were enthusiastic; a church somewhere
else where we felt so connected with God; a pastor who made us feel loved; some
friends we really enjoyed who are gone now. And we think, "Lord, is
this time when you will restore the kingdom?" Will you bring back the
good old days now, or is that all gone forever? Will I ever feel close to you
again like I did back then?
According to Luke and Acts, some forty days after the
resurrection Jesus gathered his disciples one last time on the
"You will be my witnesses." Does this scripture apply to us, or
was it only for those few gathered on that mountain top long ago? Did Jesus
mean, you are the elite, you are the apostles, and these orders are just for
you, or did he intend to describe what he wanted his disciples in every age to
do? Well, you know what I think the answer is. I don't believe in an elite few
who get special favors from God. God does not play favorites. God includes
everybody, and we are all equals before God. So I think these marching orders
for his disciples were intended for everyone who chooses to be Jesus'
disciples, even to us here today.
"You" - meaning us! - "will be my" - meaning
Jesus! - "witnesses." A witness
reports what he has seen … what she has heard … what he knows
… what has already taken place. But I never shook Jesus' hand. I didn't
see him heal the ten lepers or face down the Pharisees. I can't tell you
exactly what happened on
But maybe Jesus intended that his disciples should not just be witnesses
testifying to what happened once upon a
time, but witnesses watching what he
is doing now. Maybe Jesus was trying to help these disciples on the Mount
of Olives that day get freed from just looking back to the good old days when
he was the amazing carpenter from Nazareth and to look forward instead to what
he was about to do among them. What if Jesus was saying, "In
the next days and weeks and years, I want you to pay attention.
Be alert. Watch what's going on. See if you can tell what I'm up to. I want you
to go out into the world and observe how I am working everywhere in the lives
of people to bring them God's love. I want you to name what is happening in the
human family when you see it. I want you to testify to the mighty acts of
healing and grace I am still doing and tell the truth as you see
it."
Then Jesus ascends up into the clouds out of their sight. They stand there
looking for the longest time. They stand there for the longest time, until two
men in white robes clear their throats and tap them on the shoulder. Who are
these two men in white robes? Are they Moses and Elijah from the Mount of
Transfiguration? Are they the two angels from the empty tomb? Or are they just
two guys who were walking by and want to save them some embarrassment?
It's funny, it's pathetic, it's instructional, all at the same time, and don't
you know it's meant for us, too. "Why are you just standing around here
looking up at the sky? Don't you have some work to do? Jesus will be back, but
didn't he give you something that he told you to do in the meantime? You better
get going!" So, instead of looking up or looking back to find Jesus, we
should be looking forward, we should be looking out to see the risen Christ.
I'm not saying it's wrong to look up for God. Surely we need to stop and gaze
heavenward from time to time. Like you, I get down sometimes. I need to be
still and know that God is God. I need to lift my downcast eyes and realize God
is bigger than all my problems. I need to see the beauty of the sky and the
radiance of the stars and catch my breath. I need to aspire for the heights,
and I won't do that unless I stop my frantic activity long enough to feed my
soul and commune with God. But we are tempted to make our spirituality an
entirely vertical exercise. We get "too heavenly minded to be of any
earthly good." We fix our eyes on heaven, and we don't see the earth.
Religion becomes our escape and our excuse. If our faith is all about looking
up to God, then we don't have to look out at the people who are hurting and
needing Christ in us to bring them healing and justice. If we're looking up to
see God, then we don't have to look out to the hard places of human need where
Christ is at work and waiting for us to join him.
The same is true of our looking back for God. It's good for us to hold our
precious memories … to remember the saints who have gone before us
… to tell the old, old story. In those times when we feel low and God
seems far away, looking back to those moments when God seemed so near to us encourages
us to keep going. But when our faith becomes sentimental and nostalgic, stuck
in some romanticized good old day long gone, we turn our backs on the fresh
winds of the Spirit that might revive us. We re-bury Jesus in the tomb of the
past, and live as if he were dead to us now. As someone has said, we should "take
from the altar of the past, not the ashes, but the fire." Our memories
should encourage us with hope, not lead us to despair. Of what use is it for us
to speak of the time when God was with us, unless it opens our eyes to see how
God is still with us, and still speaking to us … now and
today and tomorrow?
Jesus needs us to be his witnesses, to stand up for him in the world. He already
went through that moment when he stood alone … when false witnesses told
their half-lies to condemn him to the cross. There are plenty of people telling
those same lies about Jesus today, but where are Jesus' friends? Who will stand
up for Jesus in the court of public opinion and say, "I know Jesus! He's my friend! He's not violent and angry and mean,
as some claim. He loves us and helps us with tender mercies every day."
What does it mean for us to be witnesses to the risen Christ in
And sometimes it means giving subversive counter-testimony to the
prevailing point of view. When the culture in which we live tells its chapter
and verse, we offer the Christian sub-verse. Their testimony is, we are heading into hard times and we better do
whatever it takes to keep big businesses strong because our nation's strength
depends on the Fortune 500. Our
sub-verse is that we must put clear boundaries on those businesses tempted to
see labor as just so much expendable capital and to sacrifice the environment
for the sake of profit, because the strength of our nation is not our
corporations but our people and our land. Their
testimony is, we have a nation of equal opportunity and laziness is the only
limit to success. Our Christian
sub-verse is that after all the rhetoric and all the struggles of the past a
white male born in the middle class or above still has a twenty yard head start
in the hundred yard dash to prosperity while some people have blocks of
concrete called poverty, malnutrition, discrimination, and exploitation tied to
their feet. Our Christian sub-verse
is that every child is a child of God and we will treat them so. While the
world asks, "Who will protect my access to the good life?" we are
asking, "Who will help us feed these hungry people?"
Such subversive Christian testimony is important because it keeps us sane when
the world is going crazy; it acknowledges the truth when our society lives the
lie. It's no accident that testifying became such a strong tradition in the
African-American church: it was the only place their voices were heard. And why
is storytelling so important in Native American cultures? At least part of the
reason is that telling their story keeps their story alive in spite of a race
that tried to eradicate it. Our Christian witness reminds us who we are and offers
the world a lifesaving antidote to the poisons of materialism, violence, and
the abuse of power.
I have had the privilege of listening to some great African American preaching.
I love the participatory, talk-back style of preacher and people in their
tradition. The preacher would say, "Can I get an `amen'?" And the
people would say? ("Amen!") The preacher would say, "Can
I get a `hallelujah?'" And the people would say? ("Hallelujah!")
The preacher would say, "Can I get a `Thank you Jesus?'" And the people
would say? ("Thank you, Jesus!") (Well, our rhythm's off, but
maybe with a little practice we could get the hang of it!) But my favorite
moment is when the preacher makes a point and then says, "Can I get a
witness?" He's asking, "Will you verify my preaching here? Have you
had this experience of God, too? Are we formed into the Christ community by
this common encounter with God, or is it only my imagination?" And the
people respond with "Amen!" and "That's right!" and "Yessir!" because they are preaching right along with
the person behind the pulpit and giving witness to the presence of the risen
Christ in their own lives.
The first commandment Jesus gave us was "Follow me!" The
greatest commandment Jesus gave us was "Love the Lord your God and love
your neighbor and love each other, too." The last commandment Jesus
gave before he was taken from our sight was, "Be my witnesses. Watch
what I am doing among you. And then tell it! Tell it! Tell it! Let your voice
be heard above all the other voices that cry evil, above all the other voices
that cry despair, above all the other voices that take my name in vain to
bludgeon people they don't like. Testify to the world that Jesus Christ is risen and God is love. And I will be with you."
You and I can't speak for God. What an arrogant presumption that would be! We
can't be witnesses of what we have not experienced for ourselves. But we can
insert into the world's vain chatter and noisy conversations a discourse of the
Spirit that calls humanity to look up and see God, and then to look out and see
all the people God sees, especially those that the principalities and powers
prefer to keep invisible. We can at least be the expert witnesses on what Jesus
has done for us. Our subversive Christian testimony is that there is reason to
hope … that there is more to this world than wealth … and that evil
doesn't get the last word. A loving God is in control, the risen Christ is
still with us, and God's Spirit is moving across the face of the deep to begin
a new creation. God guarantees an ultimate justice for all because when all is
said and done, God's love will last forever.
That's our testimony, counter-testimony, and subversion. So let's tell it! Tell
it where people make decisions in the councils of power. Tell it where children
suffer hunger and catch their parent's hopelessness. Tell it where violence
robs people's peace. Be his witnesses, for Christ's sake! That's what Jesus
told us to do. That's what Jesus promised to empower us to do. That's what
Jesus said would help us see … that he is with us always, right up to the
end of the world.
Oh, yes! Can I get a witness?
May we pray?
Jesus, Savior, make us your witnesses. Give us courage to stand up with
you. Give us wisdom to know the words inciting spiritual discourse. Give us
clear vision forward and outward where you are at work that our testimony might
not be hearsay twenty centuries old, but our own original encounter with you.
Lord, it's our intention that you would not have to stand alone again. Make us
your witnesses by the power of your Spirit, for Jesus' sake. Amen.
Rev. Mary Anne Biggs, Pastor
Nekoosa United
Nekoosa