You Are Witnesses!

Sermon Luke 24: 36-48 April 19, 2015 Easter 3

You Are Witnesses!

I have one of those this little garden flag holders in my yard. I like to put little flags for the different seasons of the year or share a phrase of good cheer. As I was mowing yesterday I realized I still had the Easter flag flying. And then as I rode around town I saw the crosses with the white drapes still out in the church lawns and I thought, “it’s two weeks since Easter Sunday and these things are still here reminding us of Easter. 

And I said in my heart, “Thank you for the visible reminders.”

We can forget so quickly.

Jesus said to the disciples, “You are witnesses to these things.”

Yes, they were witnesses to the resurrection 2000 years ago.

Two weeks ago, it might seem like an eternity ago now, yet there we were filled with activities to help us engage with the moment of Christ’s restoration to life.

And in those moments we too were witnesses to the resurrection.

We were witnesses to the presence of Christ among us.

We were witnesses to the joy of life among us,

                    the laughter,

                           the children,

                                          the music,

                                                and the air filled with energy and excitement.

So, here we are again this Sunday.

        And we are witnesses to the resurrection all over again.

              Each week when we gather we celebrate the risen Christ among us.

We celebrate the presence of Christ in our lives as we go from week to week.

            Each week we are greeted with the words of Jesus,

                                                                        “Peace be with you.”

 Yet, we forget so quickly.

And why wouldn’t we forget?

Our schedules are full, our lives are busy, our daily routines keep our heads turned in different directions.

Not to mention all the other bad stuff in the world that keeps our vision blocked and our witness of new life blinded.

Jesus said to the disciples’ “You are witnesses to the resurrection and everything that led up to it and everything that leads from it, share this with the world!”

New life occurred, along with suffering, death, reconciliation, forgiveness, hope, and promise.

It is important that we share with one another the moments that bring life,

            that breathe newness,

                     that offer hope,

                          that restore and reconcile,

                                         that refresh and replenish our souls.

I had printed the prayer of St Patrick, the whole prayer, (so you could have a copy of it to keep with you), but also as an opportunity for us to witness the life giving moment in him. His prayer as I said earlier is a statement of faith, one that we can hold on to.

A statement that spans the generations and holds power even today as people speak it and pray it as their own prayer of faith.

Patrick was 16 years old when he was taken captive from Britain and brought to Ireland to tend sheep. In his years of slavery he recognized the power of God in his life. After six years of captivity he escaped and returned to Britain. There he vowed a life of faith, entered the priesthood and after 12 years of study he returned as a missionary to Ireland. He chose to bring the love and grace of God to the people who had previously held him as a slave. Rather than bitterness for his experience of suffering he was filled with the love of God for the people who had held him. He lived his life as a witness to Christ.

We too in our lives are witnesses to Christ.

The power of Christ to call us his body; we are called the body of Christ, the Church.

As the church we are witnesses of the living Christ among us here today.

We are Easter people, people of the resurrection.

We have been equipped for the task as witnesses by the promise of God through the Spirit.

We’ve been given a direction, a mission and a vision from Christ here in this passage today. Jesus, said, “Go out and share

                               what you have seen

                                                          and heard

                                                                         and touched.”

Our calendars have been full these past two weeks since the Big Easter Sunday and I wonder as we look at the events and moments that took place if we are able to recognize the life giving moments that occurred?

·         Where have we seen the church at work in these moments, where have we seen love and grace, joy and hope?

·         Where have we offered those things?

·         We are the Church and we have all been at work in the world engaging with others.

Just showing up at a funeral, or making a call to check in on someone who has been ill, is the work of the church

and

if you did that this past week, then you can say you’ve not only seen the church at work but you have been the church at work.

As we witness baptisms, new members, participate in communion, we are witnesses to Christ at work in our lives.

When someone stops by to talk with us or interrupts their activities to help us with a project we are witnesses to the church at work in our lives.

When we see the groups of people from the county gather, no matter what they believe, what political persuasion, what church they are from, or what they think about each other,

yet they come to join together in a race or a raffle or a spaghetti dinner, they are witnesses to the church at work in the world.

So how do we forge ahead as the church?

How do we grow and become more like Christ?

How do we receive that contagious enthusiasm that transforms the lives?

Perhaps we need the challenge in our own life over the next few weeks to be alert,

            to be reminded,

to not let go or forget the risen Christ present with us wherever we go,

where ever we are,

 in whatever state we find ourselves.

Perhaps we need to be reminded of all the places we see and hear and touch the living Christ.

Perhaps, we need to ask ourselves these questions:

a weekly testimony as Easter people from now to Pentecost
1. Where have you seen the church at work this week?
2. How has the ministry of the church touched your life this week?
3. How has the church been the agent of the Spirit at work in the world, community, neighborhood?

Good things are happening. There are life giving moments all around us.

You shall be my witnesses, Jesus said.

So, let's testify to what God is doing!