We Are Witnesses!

The text for our meditation on God’s Holy Word is the First Lesson appointed for this day. I bring you grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

A few years ago, several of the ladies in our congregation worked together to make paraments for Easter Sunday—absolutely beautiful gold paraments that we use just once a year. When Easter Sunday is over, the banners and paraments are taken down and put away for next year—and that’s O.K. because the chief celebration of the Christian Church—our Lord’s resurrection from the dead—is worthy of such a special gift.

But what’s not O.K. is to treat Easter itself in that way--making it a once a year kind of thing. On Easter, we rejoice in our Lord’s resurrection—we sing those beautiful Easter hymns that are full of joy and gladness—we add the alleluias back in the liturgy—the church is packed--it's a great and glorious day! And by the next Sunday we're back to the normal, ordinary business of life. And that’s just how it is-ordinary.

But think about that! On Easter Sunday the most incredible, joyous, life-changing new is proclaimed: that Christ has been raised from the dead—a message that changed the direction of the cosmos—and a week later it’s all just back to normal. And that’s too bad-- and it ought not be that way-- because everything, absolutely everything is different for us—forever-- because Christ has been raised from the dead.

What we are going to do over these next seven Sundays in Easter season, is follow the early church in those weeks and months and years after our Lord’s resurrection and see what this Good News meant for them—how it changed their lives-- and how it still has the power to change our lives too. Luke writes that

Many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem. And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

I’m sure that most of us saw the news from Bay Area Fellowship during the Easter weekend—it was on the front page of the paper two different times and was the lead-in story on all the area TV stations—a multi-million dollar promotion—giving away cash and cars—to get people to attend their church for Easter. And they did—in droves. I’m also sure that many of us have strong opinions about their promotion. But no matter what we think of it—I think we will still agree that if nothing else—the scale of it was impressive.

For those who disagree with the methodology—and I’m one of them—if I dig around my heart a little bit, I think I will find some envy. Man, if only we could do that—bring in thousands upon thousands—or even hundreds upon hundreds of people to hear the Good News of our Lord’s resurrection—how cool would that be!

It’s the same feeling we get from reading about what was happening in the early church—signs and wonders being done by the hands of the apostles—multitudes of new believers added to the Lord—miraculous spiritual and physical healings. And we say to ourselves, If only we had a bunch of money—if only we had a bunch of miracles—then we would really have something to work with—then the Sunday after Easter would be as great as the Sunday of Easter.

But dear friends in Christ, that is the worst kind of spiritual blindness—and dare I say contempt—for the blessings of the resurrected Lord that are bestowed in this place Sunday after Sunday. When children and adults are baptized at this font they are delivered from the dominion of the devil and brought into God’s family. When the Gospel is preached in this place and sins are forgiven in absolution, people are raised from spiritual death to spiritual life. When Holy Communion is celebrated, the risen Christ makes himself present according to his body and blood no less present than when we appeared to the disciples in the upper room.

What we need in this congregation and in our lives as Christians is not millions of dollars or dramatic miracles-- but a renewed faith and joy in the Easter blessings that we take for granted: a lifetime of guilt taken away—an eternal life given—the presence of the Lord experienced. Blessings that are present in this place each Sunday—blessings that every person in the world needs—blessings that the Lord wants us to share.

Each of us are witnesses to these things: how people’s lives can be changed by Jesus—how people can be delivered and set free from those things that oppress them—how people can live with hope in the midst of hardship. This is the power of the resurrected Christ that goes on and on in our lives—this is the message that he wants us to share—even in the face of persecution. Luke writes that:

The high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.” And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.

If there is one word that is common to the Easter Season—one word that is spoken again and again by Jesus and the angelic messengers—it is the word “go!” The angels at the tomb to the faithful women: go and tell the disciples! Jesus to Mary Magdalene: go and tell my brothers! Jesus to his disciples before the ascension: go into all the world and make disciples! And here in our text, the angel to the apostles: go and stand in the temple and speak the words of life! Again and again and again: Go and tell! Go and share! Go and witness! Go and make disciples! And the early church needed to hear that message.

The disciples and the other early Christians were no different than us by nature. They were perfectly willing to keep the Good News of Christ’s resurrection to themselves. This Sunday we see them hiding out in fear behind locked doors. Next Sunday we will see them going back to fishing for fish-- instead of fishing for men. And so again and again Jesus commands them to go and tell the Good News of his life.

And that command—that mission—that heavenly purpose for their lives-- takes them directly into the very places they would rather not have gone—places of persecution. Initially, it was to their kinsmen, the Jews, like we see today. In the Gospel lesson we are told they are hiding out in fear of the Jews-- but it is to them first of all—those closest to them—those they knew best--that Jesus wanted the Good News of his resurrection to go forth.

I think that all of us can understand their fear, can’t we? Maybe we have a loved one who doesn’t believe in Jesus—maybe it’s a friend at school—maybe it’s a co-worker or neighbor—someone we care about-someone we interact with on a daily basis—someone who needs Jesus. And yet it is BECAUSE of that closeness that we find it so hard to witness. We wonder and worry: what will happened to our relationship if I talk about Jesus—will they think I am judging them—will they listen to what I have to say, because the Lord and they both know I’m not a perfect Christian.

We are blessed in this country where in large measure we don’t face outright persecution—but neither should we doubt that there are forces that oppose our witness—usually it our own fears and doubts—but sometimes it is opposition and resistance from those we love and care about.

The disciples were facing strong opposition from the Sadducees—those Jews in charge of the temple—and we understand why—if the person and work of Jesus were true—then there was simply no need for any of it anymore. And because of this opposition that came from the temple Jews—the apostles ended up in jail. But they were not in it alone. They were commanded to be about the Lord’s mission and they could count on the Lord’s help and so during the night they were set free by the Lord.

Those looking in from the outside couldn’t understand it—they couldn’t figure it out—after all, they had the power—they had the prison—they thought they were in control. And when told that the ones they put in jail were no longer there, they were perplexed and wondered what it would all come to.

As well they might! The world has been looking on in wonder for the last two thousand years of the church’s history at how twelve disciples has been turned into billions—how the poverty of the early church has been translated into a world full of people fed and clothed and sheltered and healed in Jesus’ name every day—how a handful of peasants, speaking a regional dialect has turned into a world-wide community of people in every nation speaking hundreds of languages in a vast array of cultures.

The persecutors of the early Christians wondered what it would all come to-- and we are blessed to know the answer to that in a world full of Christians—and that gives us every reason to witness with conviction and face the future with courage.
Do not think for a minute that the Lord who set these disciples free and sent them directly into the midst of their persecutors-- is even the tiniest bit less involved in his church and in the lives of his people today--than he was back then. He is still the Lord of power and might who opens locked doors for the sake of the world’s salvation.

We can see it in the world around us and we can see it in the people we know. All of us have friends or family or fellow members here at St. Paul who, if you were just looking from the outside—not perceiving the power of the Lord—would be some of the most unlikely people to have a place in the Church. But they do—because the Lord loves them—because he has opened doors so that they can be saved—because someone witnessed to them.

We need to learn and re-learn that lesson. Much too often we see only the persecution of those who oppose us—we see only the problems of those who are broken by sin—and these impediments prevent our witness. Instead, we need to see the power of the risen Lord who stands ready even at this moment and even in this place to push forward his saving work through our witness—just like he did back then. Luke writes that:

When they had brought the disciples, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

This summer our church body will meet in its national convention and besides other kinds of agenda items to be discussed and voted on, we will elect a whole range of leaders including a president. I know Pres. Kieschnick but I’ve also met Pres. Barry and Pres. Bohlman. They are all good men—Pres. Barry now gone to be with the Lord. But my personal favorite among all of them was the man who took over after Pres. Barry died and that is Pres. Robert Kuhn. Just a plain old mid-western Lutheran pastor—a suit and tie—crew cut kind of guy.

And I remember hearing him reflect on his many years in parish ministry and someone asked him what he would do different and he said that he would make sure that—in each and every sermon—in a simple, straight-forward kind of way—he explained the way of salvation. I’ve never forgotten that and it’s exactly what we see the apostles doing.

The Lord did his part and opened the way for their witness and they took full advantage of it. To all who opposed them and persecuted them--to all within the sound of their voice they said: Jesus died on the cross and rose again and ascended into heaven so that you might repent and believe in him and receive forgiveness of your sins and eternal life.

That is the simple, straight-forward message of the Gospel and we are witnesses of the Spirit-filled power of those words—in the history of the church—in this congregation—and in our own lives. We are not the people that we were before we first heard that message—we are new people, born-again by water and Spirit through the obedience of faith.

And God invites us on this Sunday AFTER Easter to turn our backs on the ordinary and take our rightful place as his witnesses to the extraordinary things he has done- and is still doing- in his crucified and risen Son Jesus Christ. Amen.

And now may the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.