The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY (Retired)
Easter has come and gone, but we are still in Eastertide. The wonder and joy
of "Jesus lives!" is still with us. Ascension Day has come and gone, but we are
still in Ascensiontide. The joy and wonder are now diluted with the knowledge
that Jesus has gone to live, as he should, with his Father and ours. We miss his
presence, but we know that in some way he is still with us. And we can't quite
figure out what to do about this new knowledge, what to do with ourselves, how
his promise of sending a Comforter to strengthen and guide us can possibly come
true, and what that Comforter will be like, what the Comforter will do, and how
we are to relate to this being for whom we are waiting. It's a weird assortment
of feelings and understandings that we are trying to grasp, all at once, as the
apostles did during this time of the year, nearly two thousand years ago.
Today's Scripture readings continue...and finish...the Church's lessons for
us on how to live as Easter people. The focus for today seems to be the word
witness. That word scares many of us. It has ties to such things as
revival meetings in hot tents during summer evenings; people preaching on street
corners, which seems to us very undignified and rather egoistical; and the
question, "Brother, are you saved?" that odd people sometimes ask us on the
street. We are not very comfortable with that word, witness. It
also has somewhat scary ties to courtrooms and cross-examination, which are not
all appealing. But it seems to be very important to us, to what is expected of
us now that Jesus has ascended into the heavens, and we are left here on earth
to carry on his work...which we are now finding out is that of witnessing to God
the Father's love for us and his care for us and for all others, because we're
all his children.
So, let's think about witness and witnessing and what it means for us now,
today.
After watching Jesus ascend into the clouds, the apostles returned to
Jerusalem, to the room where they had eaten the Last Supper and listened to
Jesus tell them about their relationship with him and the Father and the
Comforter who would be coming. They had learned, that night before the
Crucifixion, that it would be their work to continue Jesus' own witness to this
relationship and its duties and benefits. But now there were only eleven of
them; Judas was no longer with them to carry out the work of witnessing. So it
seemed proper to them to fill the empty place in their group. Twelve apostles to
help build a new Israel...just as there were twelve tribes in the old Israel.
They prayed, and then with God's help, they choose a new witness.
It is important to notice how this occurred. First they prayed for God's
guidance and then they made the choice. And their method was to let God himself
make the choice by the drawing of lots. The Amish and Mennonites still choose
their preachers and bishops this way, by allowing God to choose for them.
Drawing lots was the way important choices were made in the Old Testament, you
remember.
For us, there are two things to think about. First, do we pray before making
important decisions? Jesus said that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, would be
our guide in all things. But do we allow God the Holy Spirit to guide us? Or do
we insist on OUR preference, OUR way, OUR choice? The Spirit will not force us
to accept her guidance, but it is certainly wrong of us to neglect to ask for,
and carefully consider that guidance.
Second: Drawing lots is not a usual way to make decisions nowadays, but there
are other ways to let God make choices for us. One way is to learn all we can
about the possible choices, and then allow God to show us which is best for
us...perhaps by sleeping on it, perhaps by just waiting prayerfully until all of
a sudden, we know what we should do. And drawing lots is still an option, if we
feel comfortable with using that method.
We should also give some attention to the way that the two candidates were
brought forward for election. There were qualifications. They had to have been
witnesses of Jesus' ministry from the time of his baptism by John, right up to
the Crucifixion. That gives us another bit of guidance for our own witnessing.
One pastor who is also a Bible scholar says that we should prayerfully ask
ourselves these questions:
What have you seen God do in your own life, or in the lives of people
you know?
Who should you tell about these doings of God?
Where does God want you to do this witnessing?
What qualifications equip you to witness about God and his love?
You notice that he does not suggest that we ask ourselves whether or not we
should witness. He assumes that that's a normal part of being a
Christian. If we know God, we talk about it, because it's one of the big things
in our lives.
Finally, it is important to realize that the credibility of our
witness...whether or not people believe what we say...depends on our life style
and behavior. The Psalm today reminds us of that. Blessed are people who
live according to God's commands, and not according to the ways of the world,
the cultures that are the opposite of God's laws, the selfishness that seems to
be the key to our culture nowadays...the idea that we are entitled to what we
want, no matter how it may interfere with other peoples' lives...the greediness
of modern advertising-based values and lifestyles. We can talk until we are blue
in the face about how much God loves us and how Jesus came to teach us, and died
to witness to that love, but if we are engaged in a partying, self-centered,
self-indulgent type of lifestyle, if we cannot be honest and truthful, if our
motto is "I want it...gimmee!" our words will not carry any meaning. Many of us
were told in Sunday School, when we were children, that "YOU are the only Bible
that most people will ever read," or that "Remember, you are Scripture in
shoes." We all need to remember that, and, if necessary, make sure our lives
reflect what the Bible teaches about God, his love, and Jesus' witness on the
cross.
If every Christian took seriously his or her obligation to witness to the
Good News, and to be careful to live in such a way as to give authenticity to
that witness, our churches would be packed, and we, like the apostles, would see
crowds coming, asking for baptism. How sad that so many Christians simply ignore
their responsibility to witness and to be a witness for God and Christ. Amen.
