You Will Be My Witnesses

Luke 24:44-53

                ⁴⁴Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” ⁴⁵Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, ⁴⁶and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

⁵⁰Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. ⁵¹While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. ⁵²And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; ⁵³and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

Acts 1:1-11

                   In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning ²until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. ⁴While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; ⁵for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

                ⁶So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ⁹When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.¹⁰While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. ¹¹They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

           If the four gospel writers were a family, Luke would definitely be the Mom.  Matthew would be the rather authoritarian dad, Mark would be the kid who tells breathless stories…and John would be your hippie uncle.

           Luke would be the mom.  Luke begins his gospel with a sense of nurturing the reader:

Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, ²just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, ³I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed. 

           It’s written to “Theophilus,” which literally means “lover of God.” So it could be a dedication to a particular person.  Or to all of us.  The gospel has certainly served the latter.

           Then he goes on to tell stories about women.  Many more stories about women than any of the other gospels.  The story of the birth of Jesus is seen through two women:  Mary and her relative Elizabeth.

           Oh, men still feature prominently in the narrative.  It’s a gospel…about Jesus and the twelve guys he hangs with.

           But in setting out to create “an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled,” Luke also makes his narrative about us…in a way that none of the others do.  Luke didn’t just write a gospel, did he?

           No.  He wrote a whole book called “Luke-Acts.”  The Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.  Taken together, they form a literary creation longer than the major epistles of St. Paul.

           We have the singular experience of being able to walk across the Luke-Acts bridge this morning.  We have the last words of the gospel and the first words of Acts, a pair of lessons which tell a story told nowhere else.  Luke, as if he understood that he was the only one reporting on the Ascension, tells the story twice, each time with different emphasis that makes sense for the context.

           The end of the gospel is the end of a gospel.  It feels like an ending, even though we know that Luke continues the narrative in Acts.  In his last moments with the disciples, Luke tells us, Jesus lifted up his hands and conferred on them…

           The Benediction.  That final priestly act.  He blesses them and sends them to the city, where they stay in the temple worshiping and waiting for what is going to happen next—waiting for the power to come.

           Luke tells the same story again to open The Acts of the Apostles.  But it is subtly different from the final blessing in the Gospel, isn’t it?  Why?

           It’s not an ending.  This is the beginning of the story of how the Apostles carry the work of Jesus beyond even their wildest dreams.  How they become witnesses, not just “to these things” as the gospel lesson says.  The instruction in the book of Acts is “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

           You will be my witnesses!  You will give all for my gospel!

           And they did.  They proudly wore the title Witness into the world.  Anybody know the Greek word?

           Marturia.  They became the martyrs of Early Christianity because Jesus commanded them to be witnesses—literally “Martyrs.”

          

           In the bridge between the Good News of Jesus Christ, according to Luke, and The Acts of the Apostles, also according to Luke, is the call to take all that Jesus said and did and carry it into the world as witnesses…martyrs, willing to give even our own lives for the sake of the gospel, as he was willing.

           We ourselves cross that bridge every time we come into the sanctuary to worship and prepare ourselves for witness, just as the disciples went back to the temple and prepared themselves for witness—marturia.

           Here in this place, Jesus himself stretches out his arms and blesses us, just as Luke described it.  It is an act of such great love, an act which calls to mind the loving arms of all who have loved us.  Our mothers, our fathers, our families chosen and otherwise.  The friend who calls just when you need to hear hir voice. 

           Jesus stretches out his arms and blesses us.  He meets us here in the place of worship, our temple, where he reminds us of our call. 

           You will be my witnesses, in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

           For some of us this week, that list will include Jefferson City, where we will raise a holy ruckus to demand justice and equity in our state and our country.

           For others there is witnessing to do at home, at work, in relationships.  One form of witnessing today in particular is to give thanks for the love you have received from your mother, and for any who have been mother to you.  Another might be reaching out to one who cannot do that today and reminding that one that they are loved.

           You will be my witnesses, says Jesus.  Jerusalem, Judea, Jeff City.  Home, school, work, the store, the DMV.  Witnessing to how God has loved us like a mother, and a father and a friend and a lover.  Witnessing to the hope that is within us—hope in a new day of peace and justice for all.  Witnessing to our Lord and all that he did once and will do again, and all that he does in us and through us…every single day.

           Speak, children of God!

           Sing, children of God!

           Witness, children of God!