Easter 3B - Witnesses

SUNDAY, APRIL 22, 2012 | EASTER
THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
YEAR B

             First Reading       Acts 3:11–21

             Psalm       Psalm 4

             Epistle       1 John 3:1–7

             Gospel       Luke 24:36–49

GOSPEL
Luke 24:36–49

 36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them.
44 Then 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 and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and3 forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Witnesses

Grace, Mercy and Peace be unto you from God our Father and Savior Jesus Christ, His Son our Lord. AMEN

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to witness it, did it make a sound? It is a rhetorical question asked by philosophers, scientists, and parents intended to get people thinking. Of course, the answer is obvious. It does make a sound. And yet, I have heard a physics professor attempt to claim that if there was no one there to experience the sound, there was compression for sound waves, but it is not a sound until an eardrum translates it into a sound. If you are like me, that reasoning seems to be a little thin, yet there is at least one person out there that doubts if a tree makes a sound as it falls in the forest if no one is there to witness it. And technically they are right because the definition of sound is "something that you hear.” The question is really a rhetorical question, asked by philosophers, scientists, and parents, which is intended to get people thinking. If no one witnesses an event, does it really make an impact? This is why for every event recorded in history there must be a reliable witness, preferably more than one if possible.

A witness conveys what happened during a particular event in time. A good witness confesses the truth to what he or she as seen, and a bad witness creates falsehood about the event, either intentionally twisting their story, or accidentally presenting an incomplete picture. All of history can be traced back to one false witness, that changed the story for all of humanity, leading to the fall and introduction of sin into the world. The World, the devil and our sinful selves do not witness in truth, but desires only that which benefits ourselves to rule. But Christ came into the world as the true witness for what God had done for us, through his life and appearance through the 40 days of easter. For God spoke to his people of old by the prophets about a witness of the coming salvation; a witness which was fulfilled in Christ Jesus.

The bible witnesses to us that the story of Easter took place because of false witnesses. The first and greatest of the false witnesses came with the snake in the garden of Eden. Satan used the snake to turn Eve away from the witness of God that had been given to her by her husband, by making her question the veracity of his story. “Did he really say?” the snake cried out causing Eve to think that maybe there was a different set of instructions. Adam had witnessed the instructions given by God, but Eve listened instead to slippery serpent of Satan and slipped into sin. Adam followed closely after, not questioning what was given to him, falling head first into the dirty depths of sin because of the wiles of the devil. And God punished MAN by casting them out of perfection. And he did not stop there, for he punished the snake as well, confessing a prediction of the future, “The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.””

And the sons of man came and sinned bearing false witness about their own actions, bearing false witness about and to their neighbor, and bearing false witness about the one and only God in heaven. Satan ruled in hearts of the wicked, through their false actions, their false confessions, and their prayers to false idols. The whole of the old testament is filled with the people of God casting aside that which they knew was true, for something else listening to the whisperings of the world.

But God did not give up on this false people who did not know the truth. Instead he sent Prophets, Priests and Kings who knew the truth and bore witness to that truth. And where the true witness was proclaimed some listened and believed. They gave witness to a God of Love and Wrath, who blessed those who believed, but condemned those who refused the true witness. The prophets promised salvation, a messiah. Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.

And so the messiah came, first as a child of Bethlehem, coming fortold by angels and prophets, heralded by kings, and witnessed by shepherds. The infant king’s story was witnessed by the people so that the story could be told and verified. Then came his ministry, first to the twelve, and then to all of Israel, he taught in the open so that all could see and hear what he taught. Christ Jesus came as a witness to the truth of God, teaching about the laws of God and about the Love of God. But the people could not understand his ministry, and the leaders feared him, so they crucified him, as fortold once again by the prophets.

But Christ did not stay dead, he arose, and he appeared to his prophets. Our Gospel for today confesses that he came that Easter evening not in spirit, but in flesh, See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you wear clothed with power from on high.” And the Disciples, the learners, became the Apostles, the sent ones proclaiming the good news of the salvation of Christ.

What about us? On our own what do we witness? This week I have been a witness. I have witnessed the joy of a man experiencing freedom after 20 years of federal prison. I have witnessed the laying to rest of a man that was a husband, a father, a grandfather, and a great-grandfather. I witnessed a woman beginning the first steps in her treatment of cancer. I have been a witness to all of these things. I know that they have happened, because I saw these things. These things were set into motion long before I witnessed them, and yet I can give testimony to what I saw. I witnessed the struggle of humanity. A struggle that we endure because of our own sin, because of the sinfulness of our bodies, and the end result of that sin is the death of our body. As humans we can only witness death, if our focus is upon humanity, because all of humanity will die. And our confessions, our witnesses demonstrate that we are indeed sinful and unclean. We lie, we cheat we steal in our lives against our neighbors, and against our selves. And worse, on our own we cannot confess a witness of God either.

But we are not on our own, for we too have been clothed in the promises of God, through the righteousness of Christ in baptism. We can witness, not just to human suffering, not just to the unfaithfulness of humanity, the suffering that they serve, but we can witness to the faithfulness of God, who has not forsaken us, but has called us each by name.

Satan, the world, and our sinful selves want to be false witnesses, to serve the worlds wants. But Christ has risen, destroying the power of the perjury of the world and has declared us righteous before his Father. So through the Holy Spirit we can confess as witnesses to the World, Christ Has Risen, He has risen indeed. Hallelujah! AMEN

Gospel for Easter Evening - Luke 24:13–35 (ESV)

On the Road to Emmaus

¹³ That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁴ and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. ¹⁶ But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷ And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸ Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” ¹⁹ And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰ and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. ²¹ But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. ²² Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³ and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. ²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” ²⁵ And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

²⁸ So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, ²⁹ but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. ³¹ And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. ³² They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” ³³ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, ³⁴ saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.  

Gospel for Easter Dawn - John 20:1–18 (ESV)

The Resurrection

20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. ² So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” ³ So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. ⁴ Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, ⁷ and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. ⁸ Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; ⁹ for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to their homes.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

¹¹ But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. ¹² And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. ¹³ They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” ¹⁴ Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). ¹⁷ Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.