April 13, 2024 – 3rd Sunday of Easter

“You are witnesses of these things” (Lk 24:48).

Jesus doesn’t say to the disciples, “You will be witnesses” or “Please be witnesses” or even “Consider being witnesses if you have time in your busy schedules, between fishing and fixing your nets.” Nope, it’s simple: “You ARE witnesses of these things.” We are witnesses.

As it turns out, witnessing is not a voluntary act, but a state of being.

Now… exactly to what things we bear witness requires some imagination. Here, “these things” could be the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Or perhaps it’s the content of Jesus’ confession – the suffering of the Messiah, rising on the third day, the proclamation of repentance, and the forgiveness of sins. Maybe “these things” is the entirety of Jesus’ ministry; after all, Jesus’ life was witnessing to God’s salvation.

In case we need some help, we see Peter enter, saying, “To this we are witnesses” (Acts 3:15). Matt Skinner says that to the people of God in Acts, “The empty tomb of Easter eventually propels them to tell, through words and deeds, what they have seen and what they know.” And if an empty tomb doesn’t get you to act, it’s hard to imagine what it will take. But that itself is part of the problem. We seem to want to wait around for a more grand revelation of God’s activity before we’re willing to witness to our God. As if our God – who has defeated death, who topples empires, whose salvation seeks to go to the ends of the earth – isn’t enough. What are we waiting for? What more do we need? What are we afraid of?

But… Jesus and Peter remind us that while we are busy expecting another miracle to come our way, our silence and inaction speak volumes. How often do we forget that our words and deeds, or lack of them, give witness to how we imagine God to be? And what do those words and deeds say about God?

I suspect that for many of us, hearing that we are witnesses is not good news. How often have we declined our identity? How often do we defer testimony to others? How often – when we almost see an accident happen – do we quickly volunteer, “I didn’t see anything!”? How often do we determine that our witness wouldn’t make a difference anyway, so why should we bother? But, in doing so, we deny the truth of who we are and who Jesus needs us to be. We give up statements about God that not enough people get to hear or experience. And we forget the fact that we are never NOT giving witness to God.

“We are witnesses” is not only who we are, but also points to our calling and commitment to it. “We are witnesses” gives witness to our own selves, our own faith, our own beliefs. And THAT is the hardest truth to hear – that perhaps we don’t believe the identity God has given us, we don’t believe that God needs it, we don’t believe others will see it, and we don’t believe that it actually matters. God is constantly, relentlessly attempting to expand our visions of ourselves, our imaginations, and we – with that belief – deny God’s expanded horizons.

Friends, “we are witnesses” does not depend upon our acceptance or agreement or approval. “We are witnesses” does not depend on our readiness or recognition or responsiveness. “We are witnesses” just is. And THAT is the good news. We would make up any excuse imaginable to relinquish the responsibility. We’d convince ourselves that more qualifications could justify this calling. We’d find other ways to escape this vocation. 

But instead, let’s try witnessing on and see what it feels like. Let’s “fake it till we make it.” Maybe then, we might start to believe it. Because witnessing is not optional. It’s not an intermittent activity of our faith. It’s not something we can decide to do one day and then take a break from the next. It’s a way of life. It’s who we are. And it’s time to get used to it.