Grace
to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen.
“Do
you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help
you God?” With that question, an individual is sworn into his or her place as
an eyewitness in court. His or her task is relatively simple: truthfully
describe what it is that they saw or heard in the context of the case at hand. This
is called “testimony.” When giving their testimony, witnesses are not to
editorialize, infer, or embellish. To borrow from Joe Friday, they are to give
“just the facts, ma’am.”
But
witnesses aren’t just in court. We witness – that is, we see, observe and hear –
all sorts of things all around us, some good and some not so good. We witness
the birth of a child; we witness the arrival of family home for the holidays;
we witness a powerful storm; we witness the death of a dear friend. And, human
nature being what it is, we naturally want to, we need to tell what it is we
have seen.
But,
as Christians, we are called to be witnesses every day. This question was asked
in the high school Sunday school class today: “When has God provided
opportunities for you to witness through your faith in action?” When has God
provided opportunities for you to witness through your faith in action?
Let
me tell you my story of when God provided an opportunity to witness my faith
through action. I was standing in line at Ted Drews frozen custard stand in St.
Louis, Missouri. It was a blisteringly hot and muggy day. Laura was waiting in
the car trying to stay comfortable – I cannot remember if she was pregnant with
Alyssa or Alyssa was a baby. I was wearing a T-shirt from my college days that
had a Latin phrase on it that meant “Soundness of Body, Soundness of Mind” and
it had a pencil sketch that represented the eyes of Jesus, his nose shaped like
a cross, and surrounded by a crown of thorns. I was standing there, minding my
own business and trying to determine what flavor of custard to get, when
someone tapped me on my shoulder. “Excuse me,” he said, “but what does your
shirt mean?” Ah ha! A bold witness opportunity for the sake of the Gospel! I
turned around and mumbled something about a college T-shirt, intramurals, and
the theme of our overall wellness. I turned back around, and started glaring at
the menu board. Surely, this guy would see I was busy. It took only a few
seconds, though, before he tapped me again. I was about 6’4”, 250 – a good
sized man – so I stretched a little taller, turned around and looked down at
the man and said, “Yeeesssss?” He said, “But, what’s with the face in the
middle?” I deliberately waited about four beats before answering, “It’s supposed
to be Jesus.” And brave, bold, soon-to-be pastor Seminarian Meyer turned back
around, crossed his arms, and succeeded in being left alone.
Had
he been there, John the Baptizer would have been rightly ashamed of me. It wasn’t
like I was called before the religious authorities, demanding to know why I was
preaching a message they didn’t like. It wasn’t like I had been hauled before a
judge demanding to know what I was doing in public. It wasn’t like I was on
death row, my life threatened, and our way of life endangered. This was
custard; this was a question about a T-shirt.
Here
was John, hauled before the priests and Levites and quizzed. “Who are you?” they
demanded, presumably to trap him into admitting he was the Christ (which is the
Greek word for Hebrew, Messiah). Then they could convict him of blasphemy. Last
week I told you that the Baptizer was the last of the Old Testament prophets,
saying Jesus was coming. This week, he becomes the first of the New Testament
evangelists, the first to be able to say, “He is here!” The Baptizer gets
himself out of the way…he is not the Christ, he is not Elijah, nor is he THE
Prophet (another phrase for the Messiah, though to be the second Moses). John
the Baptizer is the preparer, the one sent to make straight the path of the
Lord. He confesses – confess means to repeat back what was told to you already –
He confesses that one is coming after him whose sandals he is unworthy to
untie. The Baptizer is preparing the way by speaking of the Christ to come. God
provided the opportunity – even if it was uncomfortable, standing before the
religious authorities – for John to witness his faith in action. By the power
of God’s Spirit, John spoke clearly, boldly and directly so that there was no
doubt: he, John, wasn’t the Christ, but the Christ is coming and coming soon.
Let’s
go back to the question again. “When has God provided opportunities for you to
witness through your faith in action?” It doesn’t have to be a moment like
John, or even a moment like mine. God provides the opportunity to show faith in
Christ in both direct and indirect ways.
Sometimes
God gives us such an open, obvious way to share our faith that it’s impossible
not to see. But, we chose to ignore the opportunity or not engage in conversation
out of fear. We don’t want to be the “religious nut,” or “that guy.” We hide
behind the statement, “We don’t want to offend,” but what we really mean is “We
don’t want to feel offended when our friends reject the message.” After all, we’re
taught not to talk politics or religion. So, we chose to not be the witness
because we don’t want to ruffle feathers.
To
us, John would speak. And he would call us back to our baptisms and tell us to
repent. Repent for not trusting the very Gospel that we are called to share.
Repent of denying the very faith that trusts Christ at all times and in all
places, except in *that* moment. John would say, “Speak. Be a witness. Be the
one who dares to speak of Christ.”
So
the Lord gives us those opportunities.
Here’s
a direct way: Some friends invite you to go to lunch at a Hooter’s restaurant.
You are free in the Gospel to eat anywhere you want, and you know that, but it
makes you uncomfortable as a Christian man to be in a place like that. So,
without dodging the issue, you say, “I’m not comfortable eating there because
it violates my Christian conscience about the role of women in God’s creation.
I don’t want that to be my Christian witness.” Here’s another direct way: a
friend got back from vacationing in Tennessee and went to see the Creation
Museum. As she is talking about her trip with a group of other friends, some of
the friends start laughing, “You don’t really believe that old wive’s tale
about an angry God who flooded the world, do you?” This time of the year, you’re
given a natural point of entrée into a conversation, “Do you know what
Christmas is all about?” That’s a direct way to have a Christian witness.
But
there are also what I call indirect ways. Perhaps a better word would be
subtle, not indirect. You live out the faith each day. In faith, you honor your
parents and confess when you sin against them. You live out the faith when you
respect your boss or your teachers, even if they are less than kind. In faith,
you do not take what isn’t yours but seek to protect the belongings of others.
In faith, you helped children who were less fortunate by purchasing them a gift
of clothes or toys, done out of love. Your witness is lived out when you pray
for the hurting. It doesn’t have to be big, or dramatic, or even John-the-Baptizer-preaching-in-public
bold. You live out a life of Christian witness when you change a child’s loaded
diaper; you demonstrate Christian faith when you tell your spouse “I love you”
and give them a kiss, hug, or just a hand squeeze. You demonstrate Christian
witness even when you lovingly discipline your child because you are faithfully
fulfilling your vocation as a parent. People see this, and they see your
Christian witness, and when they ask “Why do you do that?” You can be bold to
witness in Christian faith – “Because of God’s love for me in Christ.”
To
be a Christian witness does take one thing: having eyes and ears open, in
faith, for those opportunities to be a witness of what you know of Christ and
to demonstrate His love through you. And sometimes, it will come at the most
surprising and untimely of places.
A
couple years ago, I had been to a pastor’s installation service. It was late in
the day, the service was long, and I just wanted to get home. I stopped at a
Burger King to get a bite. I remember this distinctly: as I took my cross and
clerical collar off and put it in my truck cup holder, I literally prayed, “God…I
just want to be left alone tonight. I’m tired and hungry and just want to get
home.” About five steps from the truck, I saw it happening in slow motion: a
man rolled up on his bicycle, leaned it against the wall, and stood there and
in that moment, I knew what was about to happen. God was about to answer my
prayer with a big, fat “NO.” “’Scuze, me, mister…I’m sorry to bother you. I’ve
been riding this bike all day, trying to get home. I think I can get there by
sundown, but I just can’t go no further. I’m hungry and haven’t eaten all day.
Could you please get me a small burger?” I sighed repentantly, knowing I had
just been humbled by God Himself. I bought him dinner and invited him to sit
with me. I told him I was going to pray over the meal and asked what he would
like to pray for. He said, “Thank God that he sent you.” I smiled and said, “I
was thinking the same thing…thanking God that he sent you.” We prayed, ate, and
talked. I slipped him a few dollars and we parted company. I never saw him
again, and I’ve always wondered, as Hebrews 13:2 says, if that evening I wasn’t
in the company of an angel.
We’re
called as Advent Christians to be like John the Baptizer, to be prepared to
answer when asked. We’re not necessarily called to be missionaries or
preachers, but we are all called to answer. This Christmastide, God grant you
His Spirit, that you may be bold to answer as a witness for Jesus, the coming
King.
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