2024 05 12 EASTER 7B
Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
• Psalm 1 • 1
John 5:9-13 • John 17:6-19
Do you have a testimony? A testimony is to tell what you saw or what
you know. The Latin root for the word
“testimony is the word “testis”, meaning “witness”. Do you have a declaration that you make, as
a witness to the truth and Jesus Christ?
In our readings today there is an emphasis on the
importance of testimony. The apostles
chose a new apostle to take the place of Judas and the qualification for that
position, was simply that it was someone who had been an eye witness of all
that they had experienced in their time with Jesus, beginning with the baptism
by John. They came up with two names and
chose by lot, Matthias.
I love that the scripture doesn’t say, “Matthias is an
eloquent speaker”, or “Joseph is someone of high standing in the
community”. The qualification to be an
apostle was simply someone who had been with the group, following Jesus the
whole time and therefore, someone with a testimony about Jesus, who could
witness to others about the truth of this Good News, Gospel message.
Even when it appeared that there were two men properly
qualified, the apostles decided that God knows better than they, who should be
called to fill the spot and so they cast lots, in prayer, trusting that God is
in control of the outcome.
Saint John had a testimony about Christ. He says, that if we receive human testimony,
the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that he has
testified to his Son.
You may have heard or read about people who had near
death experiences, witnessed Ghosts or other unusual happenings. That is a testimony, and no one can deny a
personal experience – It is a powerful testimony. However, our interpretation of that event or
the conclusion we come to because of that event can range from spot on true and
correct to wildly skewed. While you and
I might have learned knowledge, or a story about spiritual matters, the
supernatural or any other belief system, and we can share that story with
others,… there is a testimony that is greater and carries more weight…. It is
the testimony of God.
Other religions or even theologians might come up with
ideas about God that seem good, but nothing trumps our message of the Gospel,
because it is what God has said about himself.
What’s more, Saint John tells us that “Those who believe in the Son of
God have the testimony in their hearts.”
We have this testimony because we are those who believe in
Jesus.
Saint John was personally present when God the father
spoke about Jesus at his baptism and he was there when Jesus went up the
mountain and was transformed when Elijah and Moses appeared. Saint John had heard the voice saying, this is
my son in whom I am well pleased – listen to him. This is the testimony of God about God. There is something more that Saint John
reveals to us in this letter, he says, “this is the testimony: God gave us
eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”
The Good News at the heart of our message is that we
have eternal life and this eternal life is ours through our connection with
Jesus. When John writes about “eternal
life”, he is using the Greek word “Zoe”, which has to do with a life that death
cannot destroy. We might read this and
think of this as meaning our being with God when we die, and although that is
true, it isn’t primarily what John was talking about. The ZOE life is more to do with the quality
of life… Spiritual Life… which starts here and now and never ends.
In our culture, we might imagine that a good life
means riches and health, but that is not what these early Christians understood
about the life that God gave. They all
understood that, to be given the life of Christ was to be so infused with the
spiritual life of God that they were assured of eternal life and they were
therefore willing to endure all kinds of hardship and yet at the same time
proclaim the goodness of the life they had, here and now, in Christ. Their vision of life and eternal life was bigger. Most importantly, that spiritual life with
which they were infused, was the life of God that can not die. These early Christians were infused….
Infilled… with life through the Holy Spirit.
We contrast this with Judas who betrayed Jesus. His vision of life was limited. He was
looking for a life that was here and now and he was expecting something that
seemed better than what Jesus was offering in the here and now – He missed the
bigger picture – his perception of Jesus’ message didn’t make sense to him
because he expected more in this physical life.
He was focused on the physical rather than the spiritual.
In the Gospel of John, the prayer of Jesus is
recorded; “While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have
given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined
to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled.”
I find this concept that Judas could be so close to
Jesus and yet lost, most frustrating.
There are certainly things that are beyond our knowledge, but it teaches
us that it is possible to follow the “idea” of Jesus and still miss the Good
News. It is possible to hear the Good
News and still not understand it. We
sometimes have our own agenda and our free will resists the message of
the Gospel. God respects and will never
over ride our free will. This is
different from genuine difficulty and slowness in understanding.
A quick look at history, or even just a quick look
around us, we see that the disciples, apostles, and all of us, poorly handle
the message of God – the testimony. We
are so slow to understand. But it isn’t
all as bad as it looks. For example, when
the former slave trader John Newton, realized the truth about Jesus Christ, he
and Wilberforce instigated the ablution of slavery. Rest assured that God’s message eventually
cuts through and then God’s life abiding in us, still makes a difference in our
world.
Our world desperately needs apostles who have the
testimony of Jesus to proclaim. Matthias
was an eye witness, but those eye witnesses are long gone…. What now? Now it is up to you and me. Now, you and I have the testimony of Jesus
and we need to proclaim it. Each of us
who believes in Jesus, has the testimony of Jesus in our heart. We each have our part to play in testifying
to the truth. This may make us a little
anxious but we can take comfort in the fact that we are upheld in prayer…. In
particular, we have been prayed for by Jesus himself.
In the Gospel of John, we get to eves drop on the
prayer that Jesus prayed for his followers, but understand that the verse after
our reading says this; “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those
who will believe in me through their message,....” This is US. Therefore, it is worth looking to see what
Jesus prays for us and rest assured that His prayer is answered.
Central to the message is this prayer for
protection. “Holy Father, protect
them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are
one.
While I was with them, I protected them in your name
that you have given me.”
At the time that Jesus prayed this prayer, Peter was
about to deny him, Thomas was about to doubt and most of them were about to be scattered
in fear and despair. My takeaway from
this is that sometimes it looks like our prayers aren’t answered…. But looks can be very deceiving. This was the very prayer of God. The protection for which he prayed was not so
much about physical protection, but that their faith in God would be protected,
and that they would be protected for their destiny in the Kingdom of God.
There were arguments and varied opinions in the early
church which must have “looked” like disunity, but Jesus prays that they may be
one. It again, looks like his prayer was
not answered…. But looks are deceiving.
In fact, what we see is why Jesus needed to pray for them. There will always be tension when working
together because we are all so different, but Jesus prays that we may be
one.
Right now, it may seem that the churches and people
within the churches, are in tension with one another. My takeaway from today’s readings is that this
is simply why Jesus needed to pray for us and don’t despair… looks are
deceiving. If there is any prayer that
we can be assured will be answered, surely it is the prayer of Jesus…. We will
be one and we are one. Within the
variations of understandings there will be and is unity. In fact I love the word “harmony”…. Harmony is a musical term that that does
not mean sameness. In music,
harmony only happens when notes that are different play together in such a way
that they make a gorgeous tapestry of sound.
The prayer of Jesus is not just for those apostles and
disciples back in the day, but for us also.
We can rest assured that we are protected in our faith so that our
destiny in the Kingdom of God will be fulfilled.
We each have the testimony of God, because John tells
us that those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Our world needs us to proclaim this
testimony. Our world desperately needs
saving by God, and our destiny in the Kingdom of God, is to bring that
testimony to those we meet so that the world can be saved. Those who believe in Jesus are saved and have
eternal life. We have the testimony,
and a testimony is meant to be declared and shared so that all can know the
truth.
Next week we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers us to share the testimony. In this coming week, let’s commit to praying for the re-infilling/ empowering of the Holy Spirit so that we can truly be the witness of God in our world, so in need of saving.
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