“You are witnesses of these things,” Jesus tells the disciples. It is the evening of the resurrection, and Jesus arrives among them shortly after Cleopas and the other burst in, having rushed back to Jerusalem from Emmaus once Jesus was revealed to them in the breaking of the bread. Though they had walked together along the road, it was not until the blessing, breaking, and distribution of the bread that they recognized him, and then he vanished from their sight. This time, Jesus joins the meal, eating a piece of broiled fish in their presence. Here he was, in the flesh - not a ghost, but - somehow, miraculously - resurrected and present with them.
As Jesus had done for Cleopas and the other back on the road to Emmaus, he again opens their minds to understand the scriptures - the age-old prophecies and proclamations and beloved stories about who God is and how God is at work in the world.
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| James Eades on Unsplash |
Later, after the ascension and the events of Pentecost, Peter offers a similar proclamation to the crowd gathered in the temple: “To this we are witnesses.” The people were filled with wonder and amazement. They had just seen Peter and John heal a man - the same man they had previously seen carried each day by his friends to beg at the gate was now walking and leaping and praising God. Here he was, worshiping in the temple alongside the rest of them.
Peter reminds the people, astonished and excited as they are, that what they have witnessed is not his or John’s own power or strength or faithfulness, but rather the power of God at work through them. It was the power of the same God who had accompanied Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all their ancestors. It was the power of the same God who raised Jesus from the dead.
Witnesses are found featured in news reports or in the courtroom. They are invited to be part of the signing of documents in a lawyer's office or to watch and listen as an hypothesis is tested and retested. There are layers to being a witness. Most basically, a witness is someone who observes an event. They watch and listen from the sidelines, or perhaps right in the midst of the action, as things unfold.
Beyond that, though, to be a witness also involves action. It is someone who has experienced an event, and then is called to testify, to share what they have seen and heard.
The disciples who are met by the risen Jesus are witnesses not just of the events of Jesus’ ministry or his death and resurrection, but witnesses of the living, ongoing promises of redemption and grace, which have been unfolding since the beginning of time. God is present and active in the world, and they have seen and heard it - and they have been empowered to go and tell.
Over this past week we have been witnesses yet again of the pain of our Black and brown siblings. In Minnesota, we witnessed the death of Daunte Wright, a young Black man killed by police during a routine traffic stop. This took place just ten miles down the road from where police officer Derek Chauvin stands trial for killing George Floyd last summer after kneeling on his neck for nine minutes. Later in the week, body cam footage from the end of March was released, giving witness to the death of Adam Toledo, a thirteen year old Latino boy, shot and killed by Chicago police.
These events took place in the midst of other violence and trauma inflicted on Black people and other people of color, in the midst of systems that perpetuate racism in ways visible and invisible. In these trying days, we are called to witness the deep pain and anguish and grief of our siblings of color. Our work as witnesses is not to draw our own conclusions, to deny their experience, or to scold them for their expressions of grief and anger and heartbreak. Our work is to watch and listen. Our work is to not turn away or give in to our discomfort but rather bear witness to this devastation. Then, through our witness, we can help others see as well, naming racism and speaking out in our workplace and school and family.
Throughout the stories of scripture - those same stories Jesus made clear for the disciples - we hear of a God who is committed to liberation and wholeness and life. In Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we witness the power of God’s love and grace to upend destructive systems, forgive sin, and bring about transformation and new life. In our lives and words and actions, we testify to God’s presence in our midst, to the ways God is at work in the world.
In a world that is suffering, we are witnesses to the new life God brings. In a world that is poisoned by racism and discrimination of all kinds, we are witnesses to the declaration that all people are made in the image of God, that all people are beloved. In an upside-down world that values profits over people, we are witnesses to the right-side-up economy of the kingdom of God. In a world that is so often motivated by fear, we are witnesses to the abiding peace of Jesus.
Like the disciples, we are witnesses not to ghost stories but to transformation stories. We are called to bear witness to a world that is not yet all that God created it to be. We are called to invite others into this kingdom-building work. When we encounter our risen Lord, we can take the grief of death and the pain of oppressive systems and usher in a new heaven and a new earth. The way things "used to be" and the way things "have always been" will pass away. Even now, we continue to encounter the resurrected Jesus and defiantly proclaim that death is not the end of the story, no matter how hopeless it seems to be. God opens our minds to understand the scriptures and we cannot help but to bear witness, to call out sin, and promote God's way of grace, mercy, and love. We are witnesses to all these things.
*Many thanks to my colleague the Rev. Karen Sease for the last paragraph!
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