Sermon: Witness

Rev. Jennifer Whipple
Witness
Easter Sunday 
Matthew 28:1-10, 16-20 

Prayer: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts here this day be acceptable in Your sight, Oh Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer.  Amen.

            A singing group called “The Resurrection” was scheduled to sing at a church.  When a big snowstorm made it impossible to go through with the performance as planned on the calendar, the pastor trudged out into the snow and fixed the outside sign to read. “The Resurrection is postponed.” 

We are blessed with a beautiful Easter day today, people of faith, especially living in CT where there is still the possibility of incredible snow in March…but no postponements here.  In fact, especially for those of us who lead programs and worship in the church or for anyone who hosts family holiday gatherings, this day certainly came early this year – leaving little time for taking a good deep breath between Christmas and the joyous resurrection that we celebrate.  This year we had three weeks to learn and listen to the stories of Jesus’ ministry before we arrived in the season of Lent, the season of self-evaluation and repentance.  We quickly came to the days when we rejoiced with the blind man as Jesus blessed him with the gift of sight; cheered with Lazarus’s family and friends as he was raised from the dead; drank of the living water with the woman at the well and ran along with her to her village to share the news that she had met the Messiah; and we danced along with the dry bones that once again took on human flesh and life.  As we have walked on the Lenten Journey with one another we have also heard testimonies from those among us about the way that God has transformed them, and we have taken the opportunity to think about the way of transformation of God in our own lives. 

We have read about and heard about miracles beyond our imagining, and yet – just when we think that there perhaps cannot be any more -- here God goes.  Just when we think that the most amazing things have happened, we arrive once again at Easter.  We relive the story of the women who go to sit vigil in their tremendous grief and love outside the tomb where Jesus’ body lay, and yet he is not there.  He has risen.  And their grief turns to fear and confusion, then to joy and ministry as they realize that their beloved Teacher is not dead.   And they run, as if trying to set a record in a marathon, to witness to the disciples and others about what they have experienced. 

             Think back with me for a second if you will to answer the following questions.  Who first told you about God?  Who first uttered the name “Jesus” to you?  Who first shared with you the miracle of the Easter story?  I am willing to guess that for most, if not all of you, your answer is different than that of the person sitting next to you.  Perhaps for some of you it is a parent, a church school teacher or pastor, a close friend who invited you to a youth program, a trusted colleague who knew you were experiencing a tough time in your life and needed to hear some words of hope.  Create an image of that person in your mind for me if you have not already done so.  Despite whatever title they hold for you in your minds and hearts I want you to give them an imaginary nametag that says the following, “Hello!  My name is….I am a Witness.”

 Today with the amount of CSI shows on TV when we think about the Easter story it is hard to believe.  After all, with the right amount of testing, exploration, and science, it seems like there is an explanation for everything in our world, and yet in the scriptures we have only after-the-fact accounts of Jesus’ resurrection.  In fact, the actual resurrection itself is one of the very few experiences in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ that we do not receive an account of in the scriptures.  It takes place between Father and Son – only between God and Jesus.  So we read the story of Jesus’ preparation for burial and being placed in the tomb.  Then we skip to an empty tomb, linen wrappings laid just so, and an angel telling the women not to be afraid. 

 Also with countless law shows on TV we have our own ideas about the word “witness.”  We think of witnesses as the people who hold up their right hands and take an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  In those cases we think of people in nice suits sitting in court rooms trying to defend one side or another.  We don’t often conjure up images of women sharing their grief with one another at a tomb or of the first people who taught us about God, who shared their experiences of who it is that God was to them.  People in robes & sandals, jeans & t-shirts, in aprons, in work clothes.  But that is exactly what they were.  When we think about what it is that witnesses do the first thing that comes to mind perhaps is that they testify to something they experienced or they share their stories, as well as at times the stories of others.  They tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about how they have seen God at work in their lives and in the world around them.

 Surely there is a certain transformation that happens when you have truly felt the presence of God in your life.   And I pray for you on this day of miracles, that if you have not yet felt God’s presence that you will in this place or in the hustle and bustle of your everyday life.  For if there is a time that we need to know the presence of God in our lives and in our world it is now.  We live at a time when so many things counteract the hope and joy that we are to feel on this Easter Sunday in a world where war rages on, where people still go without not only in far away places but right here in this community.  We are to be bearers of that hope, that joy, and that peace.  We are called to go out on a limb as the women did in the gospel story of Jesus’ resurrection – not for our own recognition – but so the world can recognize the amazing works and power of God, so all will know our gratitude for the gift we receive once again this day. 

 There are plenty of people we can name who don’t spread the good news of the gospel – of new life in Christ -- because they want to be recognized, want to make it big, or, Lord knows, because they want to strike it rich.  Think back again to those people who were the first witnesses in your life for example.  The only place they might stand out is in the lives of people like us, with whom they first shared the stories about God in their experience.  They are “the other Mary”.  They are people whom we may know by name but that maybe not many other people know – not like the tabloid superstars of today.  But they are people who God called to testify to the blessings they have received through their faith – to share hope in our times of trial and difficulty, to share the extraordinary gift of our salvation, to let us know that someone is there for us no matter what.  For the last words that Jesus shared with those he was closest to and shares with us today in the scripture are, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” 

              Today, we are called, as the women and disciples were on that Easter morning so long ago, to share our testimonies -- our stories about God’s activity in our lives.  We are called to be witnesses, people who speak from our personal experiences of God and who attest to the truth about how God continues to be present in our world.  We are called to make our church a witness to all that God has done and can do through us in our words, our thoughts, our prayers, and our deeds.  “No matter how long the road or dark the way, the Easter faith proclaims hope in the face of despair, light in the midst of darkness, joy in the night of sorrow and most of all…life in a glorious victory over death.  No matter who you are, where you’ve been, what your station in life or how life has been for you, the glorious truth of this Easter celebration of the victory of life over death is for you!” [1] God has offered us so much, especially the free amazing gift of grace and salvation through Jesus Christ…how can we stop from sharing the blessing that is with others?    

             “Do not be afraid.  Go and tell.  Go and make disciples of all nations,” Jesus continues to say to us on this Easter Sunday in 2008.  Go out and share the Good News with those around you.  God throughout time has used all manner of people to do amazing deeds in the world. God knows us and has known us our whole lives.  God knows our shortcomings, and most importantly God knows the gifts with which we are each equipped.  God has listened to our needs and has responded with a gift that is beyond measure and beyond our own imagining – the gift of the empty tomb -- of salvation…of new life.  Now we are called by name to be witnesses to the ends of the earth.  We have the examples in the women who received the surprise of a lifetime at the tomb so many years ago, in the disciples who literally walked to the ends of what they knew to be earth to share the message of God’s love and the joy and responsibility it is to be followers with all who would listen, and in those who first shared the Easter story with us. It is an amazing task and responsibility that we are called to…brought on by an extraordinary message and unexpected gift for all.  Rev. Nathan Baxter shares these words of wisdom, “Remember this: Easter is not just a holy event that happened over 2000 years ago in Jerusalem.  It is a little Easter on whatever day we discover our need for the love of God.  When we discover that all the Good Fridays of our lives cannot destroy the love God has for us.”[2]  For on this Happy Easter we once again declare that Christ is Risen!  Christ is Risen Indeed!  And, brothers and sisters in Christ, because of the miracle we celebrate today and for so many other reasons, we have God’s good work to do. Alleluia and Amen!