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“You are witnesses of these things,”[1]
says Jesus to the disciples in Luke’s Gospel. The way Jesus uses the word
witness to the disciples is an imperative verb. For those of you who don’t
remember imperatives from English class, an imperative verb is a verb that
creates a sentence that gives an order or command. When reading an imperative
sentence, it will always sound like the speaker is bossing someone around.
Imperative verbs don’t leave room for questions or discussion, even if the
sentence has a polite tone.[2]
And, in today’s Gospel, Jesus is Mr. Bossy Pants, using the word “witness” as
an order or command.
Witnessing, or telling the story of
God in our lives, is something that is long out of fashion among most of us in
the Episcopal Church. Speaking so directly abut God working in our lives is
something most Episcopalians don’t do. After all, we certainly wouldn’t want to
be accused of being pushy about our faith! Or worse, there’s the fear factor: suppose
we told the story imperfectly; without due thought or the right words or the
right inflection or the theology wasn’t quite right? What if we told our story,
but the story was about God in the midst of pain or doubt instead of God in the
midst of love and joy?
Dear People of
God, people outside these walls and inside these walls are hungry. Hungry, not
just for food, but to hear about God. People don’t need just the right words or
just the right inflection, or perfect theology. People are hungry for stories
about God told by people who have experienced God in their lives. People are
thirsty for stories about God in the midst of love and joy, and dry as the
desert for hearing about the God who comes in the midst of pain and doubt. People
hunger for a witness; the authentic witness of God working in someone’s life,
so they can see it, feel it, and know it in their own lives.
I can see from
your expressions that many of you think this is something you could never do.
It sounds frighteningly like the “e” word, doesn’t it? (The “e” word being
Evangelism.)
Let’s try something though. I know what we’re about to do can
be even harder for most Episcopalians, an interactive sermon, something that
requires more than listening or possibly dozing a little. So join me in this. Think
of something you love. It can be anything: a family member, a child, your work,
your garden, something you play, a sports team, a beloved pet, or whatever it
is. Got that? Okay, now turn to the person next to you – yes, you’ll have to
get up and move if there’s no one next to you – and tell the person next to you
about this thing, or person, or creature, you love. What or who is this you
love? What is it about what you love that makes you love it? Let’s take, oh
maybe, two minutes so each of you can tell the other person about what you
love. (Long pause.)[3]
Great. Stay
where you are for a moment if you had to move. Was there some enthusiasm in your
voice when you told about what you love? Was there some joy in your voice? Even
if your team lost last week or last month, or the person or the animal, or
whatever it was is so longer around, was there joy in what you said? I heard a
lot of energy in those stories (even at 8 am when some of us are only partially
awake). Now you know. You are witnesses to what you love.
We witness all
the time to things we love and care about: great movies or television programs,
good books, accomplishments and failures of our lives and of others, our
family, our life, our work and our play. We are constant witnesses to what we
love. This means all of us are experienced witnesses. We are fully trained and
capable. We know how.
So let’s do
this one more time. Take a moment and think about what God has done in your
life. You may have seen, felt, heard, sensed, known God in a moment of joy or
sorrow, in love or anger, in something expected or something unexpected. Now
turn to the person next to you and share that story. And then listen to their
story. (Long pause of about three minutes.)
Was there some
emotion in your voice? Was the story an authentic part of who you are? Did the
story matter to you? Do you think the person who heard the story could tell? Now
you know. You are witnesses to the God you love.
Your witness
may not have included just the right words or just the right inflection, or
perfect theology. But the person to whom you spoke heard your authentic witness
about God and you needed to hear their witness too. We all have a deep need to
hear the witness of people who have experienced God in their lives. We need to
hear the witness of God in the midst of love and joy, and the witness that God
comes in the midst of pain and doubt. What we need in here and people need out
there is witnessing; the authentic witness of God working in people’s lives. And
we need to hear it to remember that God is working in your lives and in my
life. Other people need to know, just like you know, that Jesus defeated death
and rose again.
Remember: you
just told a story of something you love. You can do it again. You will do it
again. Come to the table. Eat and live. Go and tell. You are witnesses to these
things.[4]
AMEN.
The Rev Nicolette
Papanek
©2018
[1] Luke 24:48 (NRSV)
[2] Grammarly.com/blog/imperative-verbs/ Accessed 14 April
2018
[3] Props to David Lose at workingpreacher.org and Rob
Voyle of clergyleadership.com for this idea.
[4] Ibid.
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