Bearing Witness To The Resurrection
John 17: 6-11
Roger Lynn
September 13, 2020

We are Easter people. Celebrating the resurrection is at the very heart of Christian faith and practice. And figuring out what that means is an ongoing challenge. Too often we make the mistake of treating Christ’s resurrection as a one-time event which occurred on a certain day at a certain time in a certain place. To do so is to miss much of the power which is inherent in our faith. It is interesting to note that in all four of the Gospels which we find in our Bible, there is not one single mention of anyone being present at the actual moment of resurrection. There is no description of what happened or when it took place. Instead we find stories of Jesus dead and buried, and we find stories of people who encountered the risen and living Christ. For the writers of the Gospels, resurrection is an experience rather than an event. It is an experiential reality rather than a provable fact. It transcends time rather than being limited by time. It is about transformation rather than resuscitation.

What we find revealed in Christ’s resurrection is life as God intends it to be lived – an extraordinary, transcendent life given by God as a free and gracious gift. It is life which takes us beyond our ordinary experience in ways which make it qualitatively different from human existence as we experience it apart from God. Thus understood, such resurrection living need not be thought of only (or even primarily) in terms of what happens after we die. When we open ourselves to the active and ongoing presence of God in our lives, we find ourselves thrust into resurrection living beginning right here and right now. And such living is most certainly worth celebrating and sharing. Indeed, how can we keep from doing so?

Christian faith is not about sitting on the sidelines. It is not about participating when it is convenient. It is a full-time, all-the-time, 110% way of life that transforms both us and the world completely. It cannot be left to a chosen few. Bearing witness to the resurrection is the responsibility of everyone who is touched by the resurrection. And that means all of us. Please note that we are not called to convince anyone of anything. We are not called to force anyone to accept our beliefs or our way of life. We are only called to bear witness to what we ourselves have experienced – the living presence of the resurrected Christ bringing meaning and purpose and direction to our lives. And we do this not so much with our words as with our living. One of the very practical ways in which other people come to experience Christ’s presence in the world is in and through us. When our lives reflect our faith, people notice.

In the prayer which appears in the 17th chapter of John’s Gospel, we find Jesus asking God to bring certain qualities into the lives of the disciples. 2,000 years later such qualities of living are still worth praying for and striving for. In many ways these qualitites are the evidence of God’s active presence in our lives – the way in which we “bear witness” to the resurrection. The over-arching theme which defines this section of Jesus’ prayer is one of relationship – Christ’s relationship to God, God’s relationship to Christ, God’s relationship to us, our relationship to God, our relationship to each other. Literally everything else about the life of faith emerges out of this all-encompassing, inter-connected web of relationship. We sing a song sometimes – “They will know we are Christians by our love.” The core of Christianity is not the particular things we believe – it is the ways in which we love. Within the context of this theme of relationship, Jesus prays, “that they may be one, as we are one.” (John 17:11) Such unity does not mean complete agreement on everything, or lack of any conflict, or the absence of all tension. It does mean the presence of care and respect and a sense of connection which transcends our differences. The world in which we now find ourselves living often seems to be defined by radical self-interest, divisive polarization, and a profound sense of isolation and separation. Within that context, I can think of no more powerful sign of God’s presence than unity which is born not of conformity, but of love. And then, at the end of Jesus’ prayer, he asks that the disciples might experience joy. This is not naive, ignorant, close your eyes to what’s happening around you kind of euphoria. This joy rises out of the deep and abiding presence of God rather than the transient, external circumstances of life. It is a by-product of resurrection living.

We are Easter people. Celebrating the resurrection is at the very heart of Christian faith and practice. And figuring out what that means is an ongoing challenge. It is a task which can occupy us for a lifetime. But we can begin by remembering that resurrection is not a “once upon a time” story, but a “right here, right now, in the midst of us” experience. When we start living in that reality, the rest will follow. May we continue to be Christ’s disciples who bear witness to the resurrection we experience.