5-30-19 - Call the Witness

(You can listen to this reflection here. The reading for Ascension is here.)

Jesus had clear orders for his disciples before his final departure: they were to bear witness to what they had seen and known with him, and further, they were to bear witness to knowing him, making him known to the people they met.

“But 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.”

I use this line every year, but sometimes I wonder if Episcopalians think we’re in the witness protection program. We eagerly testify to our great liturgy, our friendly coffee hours, our beautiful buildings, not to mention the movies we’ve seen, restaurants we’ve enjoyed, grandchildren, children, and pets we’re besotted with… but when it comes to talking about our faith, or tossing Jesus’ name around? Silence. Who, me?

If we think bearing witness is all up to us, maybe we have reason to hesitate – we may think our stories not exciting enough, our experiences not extreme enough, our words not eloquent enough, our knowledge not extensive enough. But notice what comes first in that sentence: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…”

Jesus’ disciples weren’t any more equipped than we are in those early weeks after his resurrection. They huddled up in that room, went fishing, prayed and wondered what the heck they were supposed to do next. But when the Spirit came upon them at Pentecost, suddenly they were empowered in ways they could not have imagined before. Peter, so quick to deny Jesus after his arrest, now risked arrest himself because he could not stop proclaiming the name of Jesus.

We think we have to figure out how to be witnesses. No. We need only be open to the Holy Spirit – invite the Spirit to fill us, empower us, equip us, embolden us. Then the stories will spill out. The “anointed appointments” will pop up in our lives. The “God-incidences” will mount up.

We are Jesus’ witnesses. It’s his life we proclaim, telling and showing how his life has intersected with and enriched and made sense of our lives. Come, Holy Spirit! Call the witness!

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The readings for Ascension day are here.