Peace be with you. My name is Danny Bradfield. My pronouns are he/him/his. I’m pastor of Bixby Knolls Christian Church.
It is so good to worship with you on this third Sunday of Easter. We’ll celebrate and reflect on Easter for a total of seven Sundays, until we reach the day of Pentecost on Sunday, May 23.
I start this morning with a little disclaimer: this week’s scripture is from Luke’s gospel. The past two weeks, we’ve heard readings from John’s gospel. John’s gospel is very different from Luke’s gospel.
Two weeks ago, we heard from John’s gospel how Mary Magdalene went to the tomb by herself, before sunrise on Easter morning…
In Luke’s gospel, a whole group of women go to the tomb. Luke says there was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women, in that group.
Last week, we heard from John’s gospel how Jesus appeared that evening to the twelve disciples, and how Thomas wasn’t there…
In Luke’s gospel, something else happens on Easter, before Jesus appears to that group of disciples.
Two disciples who were not part of that group of twelve were traveling from Jerusalem to Emmaus on that Easter Sunday. The resurrected Jesus appeared to them, and walked with them, but they did not recognize him; not until they reached Emmaus and invited him in to join them for dinner. Then these two recognized Jesus; but Jesus disappeared from their sight.
So these two disciples rushed all the way back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples what had happened.
And that’s when today’s scripture story takes place. These two were telling the others what happened on their journey to Emmaus, when Jesus himself then appeared, and stood among them all, and said “Peace be with you.”
If Luke and John were journalists, they would be terrible, and they would be fired, because they can’t seem to get their facts straight.
But they’re not journalists. They are witnesses to the truth, and their accounts contain poetry as well as prose. Because poetry often is able to express truth in a way that prose cannot. Poetry often expresses truths that are so deep that a mere factual retelling doesn’t do it justice.
That’s why, even after the invention of photography, there was and is still great appreciation for the work of painters.
A painter isn’t going to paint a scene the same way it would appear in a photograph. And two painters won’t paint the same scene the same way.
If it’s a landscape scene, one might emphasize the variations of colors; another might emphasize the way the light reflects off of certain features; and one might use exaggerated lines to show the movement of water or wind.
Luke and John - like Matthew and Mark, the other two gospel writers - are more like painters than photographers. And each emphasizes different aspects of the truth and significance of Jesus’ life.
One thing both Luke and John have is Jesus’ words: “Peace be with you.” And Luke, like John, has Jesus mention repentance and forgiveness.
It’s all about restoring relationships. Sin is what tears relationships apart and divides people from each other and separates people from God. The sinful ways of the world, the sinful ways of empire, divide people from one another.
People are put on alert, and start looking out for themselves and themselves alone. The sinful ways of empire turn neighbor against neighbor and even family member against family member. The sinful ways of empire make people especially afraid of anyone who is different.
But those who repent from these sinful ways and who learn to forgive one another and live in harmony, find peace.
In Luke’s gospel, Jesus says to his disciples: You have seen all this. So go, and proclaim this good news; go and proclaim what repentance and forgiveness can do, and how repentance and forgiveness can change the world. Go and proclaim it, for you are witnesses of these things. You are witnesses of this better way. You are witnesses of the kingdom of God, the alternative to the sinful ways of the empire.
This idea of disciples as witnesses is important to Luke. Luke wrote another book of the Bible - the book of Acts - which describes the activities of the disciples and the early church that took place in the years that followed.
And the book of Acts begins the same way the gospel of Luke ends: with Jesus telling the disciples that they are witnesses. In Acts, chapter one, Jesus tells his disciples: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
So: what does it take to be a witness?
What does it take to be a witness to the better way of God’s kingdom?
To find out what it takes to be a witness, let’s look at Luke, chapter seven, which tells the story of a time when Jesus was invited by a VRP (Very Religious Person) to a banquet.
So Jesus went to the VRP’s home, and while he was at the table, a woman from the street came in and approached Jesus. Apparently she was known throughout the neighborhood as a sinner…
She came in, and she was crying, and her tears fell on Jesus’ feet, and she then wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair, and then poured perfumed oil on his feet.
The banquet host was horrified. Not just by the uninvited woman and the scene she was causing; and not just because of the fact that she was a known sinner; but also, this VRP who was hosting this banquet was shocked and offended that Jesus seemed pleased by her presence and her action.
Jesus then took the opportunity to bear witness. First: Jesus bore witness to the truth of the current situation; then, Jesus bore witness to the truth of the contrasting kingdom of God.
First: the current situation. Jesus said to the VRP: “Do you see this woman? When I entered your home, you didn’t shower me with hospitality, but she did. You didn’t give me water for my feet, but she wet my feet with tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but she hasn’t stopped kissing my feet since I came in. You didn’t anoint my head with oil, but she has poured perfumed oil on my feet.”
That’s bearing witness to the truth of the current situation. Granted, the VRP probably didn’t see things the way Jesus saw them. One can only hope that Jesus, in describing what he saw - in bearing witness - was able to open the eyes and the mind of his host to what was really going on.
Then, after bearing witness to the truth of the current situation, Jesus bore witness to the truth of God’s kingdom. Jesus said: “This woman’s many sins have been forgiven; so she has shown great love.”
Forgiveness. Acceptance. Great love. That’s the better way.
This woman's relationship with God has been restored. It has been made right. Because that’s how things are in God’s kingdom. The sin that separates and divides is overcome, and relationship is restored.
Now, I think that is a good model of how we are to act as witnesses: we witness to the truth of our current situation, and how the current situation divides, hurts, separates, and alienates people; then we witness to the truth of God’s kingdom - the better way - where divisions are overcome, where hurts are healed, where what is separated is put back together, and where people who have been alienated are made one with God and with humanity.
So, following the example set by Jesus, let’s see how this works. First, let us bear witness to our current situation:
Last Sunday, at about the exact same time I was giving the benediction at the end of our worship service, a police officer by the name of Kim Potter was pulling over a 20 year-old African-American man in Minnesota. His name was Daunte Wright, and he was pulled over because his car’s registration tag had expired.
Officer Potter then discovered that Wright had an arrest warrant. She had Wright step out of the car, but then Wright struggled with officer Potter and was able to get back in his car. Potter said, "I'll tase you", and then yelled, "Taser! Taser! Taser!"
But Officer Potter discharged her gun instead of a taser, firing one shot, which killed Wright.
I think we can agree that Wright should not have struggled or tried to escape; and, I think we can agree that Potter should not have killed Wright.
Potter says she didn’t mean to fire her gun, that she confused her gun for her taser. Her training should have made that impossible.
Anyway, this is what happened last Sunday; but we know there is more to it than that. Every week - every day, it seems - another Black person - usually a young Black male - is shot by a police officer. Sometimes they had committed violations of the law. Sometimes they were completely innocent. But never did they deserve to die at the hands of a police officer.
To bear witness to the truth, we have to be honest about the problem we have in this country concerning police corruption and brutality against African-Americans.
And maybe it’s because of the privilege I have as a white person, that I really want to give Officer Potter the benefit of the doubt, and say, “maybe it really was just a mistake.”
Maybe it was.
But... the ongoing oppression of Black people in the United States is too pervasive, and has gone on far too long.
It doesn’t always take the form of police brutality. Sometimes it’s how Black people are passed over by employers who instead choose white people who may not even be as qualified.
Sometimes it's how Black neighborhoods have more environmental toxins, more pollution, and fewer resources...
Sometimes it’s how politicians work so hard to make voting so difficult for Black people. All the talk about voter fraud in the 2020 election is racist, because no widespread voter fraud has been found. Independent observers say it was one of the fairest elections we’ve ever had.
But by repeating the lies that widespread fraud occurred, politicians are gathering support for oppressive laws that make it so much harder for Black people to vote.
As a church - as disciples - we are called to bear witness to all this, and to proclaim the truth.
To proclaim the truth, we need to know the truth. Jesus didn’t just make assumptions about the woman who anointed his feet; he knew her truth.
So we can’t just make assumptions. When I hear people complain about how they are being oppressed, my instinct is often to say, “Come on; it’s not really that bad. You must be exaggerating.”
Or, I’ll wonder: “Why are you always angry? Why are you always complaining?”
That’s my privilege, showing itself, making assumptions.
But when wisdom gets hold of me, I stop myself. And I listen. I listen, so I can hear them bear witness to their truth, the truth of their lives, the truth they experience day after day after day.
And I admit: it’s hard. It’s hard to listen to their truth. But I know it doesn't even come close to how hard it is to live with that truth, live in that truth, every single day.
If I want to be a faithful witness to the truth, I need to take the time to know the truth. I need to stop being like those VRPs who thought they knew all about people like that woman who came in off the street. I need to stop making judgments, and I need to listen.
And then…
And then, I bear witness to the situation we are facing.
And then, after that, I bear witness to God’s truth.
I bear witness about how, in God’s kingdom, that woman who came in from the street is no longer silenced; instead, her truth is spoken.
And, in God’s kingdom, the truth of all those who have had assumptions made about them and judgments cast on them, is no longer silenced. Their truth is spoken.
And, in God’s kingdom, every black life matters, and every young Black man and young Black woman knows that their life matters.
And, in God’s kingdom, those who have power use their power to lift up those who have had power taken from them; and those who have a voice speak only to say, “listen to their voice - the voice of those you have silenced. Listen to them bear witness to their truth, so that you might know and understand.”
And, in God’s kingdom, the rights of all people are respected and uplifted.
And, in God’s kingdom, Asian Americans, and people who are transgender, and people who are gay or lesbian, know that their lives matter, too.
This is God’s truth! The truth to which we are called to bear witness! This is the better way.
And, in God’s kingdom, those who are forced to flee the dangers and horrors of their homeland find a safe, welcoming refuge.
And, in God’s kingdom, the homeless poor are given safe housing.
And, in God’s kingdom, all the sin and all that separates people from one another, and all that separates people from God, will be overcome. The divisions will be healed. The breaches will be repaired. The brokenness will be made whole.
I’ve seen it happen. I’ve seen the ugliness of a world of sin, and I’ve seen the beauty of a world of grace and forgiveness, affirmation and love.
I am a witness of all this. And I will do my best to proclaim the truth that I have seen, in word and in deed, because I am a disciple of Christ.
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