"Witness" (Acts 1:6-14)

Last week, I mentioned to you in passing that I’ve been reading several books. One, a book on kindness, is by Nawang Khechog, who spent a number of years as a Buddhist monk and who studied with the Dalai Lama.


I chose this book for several reasons. One reason is that I heard an interview on the radio with Sylvia Boorstein. At the time I didn't know who she was, but listening to her talk, her gentle voice that emanated wisdom and gentleness, I was captivated. Sylvia Boorstein was raised Jewish and now practices Buddhism and has written several books herself including one on finding happiness, and another titled, That's Funny, You Don't Look Buddhist.

Now it happened that I was in the car when I heard this interview, but I couldn't hear very well what she was saying because the rest of the family was in the car as well. Even the dog! And everyone was talking (except the dog), and asking to listen to something else, and complaining about why we all needed to be going where we were going ... and finally I yelled, "Shut up! I'm trying to listen to this! Just shut up!"

And then it got real quiet, except for Sylvia Boorstein on the radio; and she was talking about kindness. And I realized that maybe I should learn a little more about kindness, and try to practice it more.

Another reason I chose a book on kindness is that I realized that kindness has been the most overlooked of all virtues for me. The call to act with kindness is everywhere, but I didn't see it. It's in my church's vision statement, which is based on Micah 6:8: "What does the Lord require of you? Do justice, love kindness, walk humbly..." It's the sixth point of the boy scout law: "A scout is kind." It's one of the fruits of the Spirit Paul writes about in his letter to the Galatians: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness...."

And not too long ago, at the end of one of our worship services here, I almost stopped cold in the middle of the benediction, because I was startled to realize that kindness is one of the blessings mentioned in my paraphrase of Numbers 6:26, which I use quite often: "May God bless you and keep you, may God's face shine upon you and be gracious to you, may God look upon you with kindness ... and give you peace."

I had always thought that kindness was kind of wimpy when compared to other virtues, like love, boldness, justice, and peacemaking. But suddenly realizing that the call to kindness surrounded me, it seemed to me that perhaps I should explore that.

Another book I've been reading is a book on the moral vision of César Chávez. My daily prayer book featured some quotes from César Chávez recently, and it seemed to me that I should learn more about this influential and inspiring Californian of the 20th century.

Normally, I try to focus my attention on one book at a time; but for some reason I found myself alternating back and forth, reading one chapter from the book on kindness and then one chapter about César Chávez's moral and religious convictions. And in my mind, these two books started conversing with each other. César Chávez's Catholic faith taught him that every human being has worth and deserves to be treated with dignity; and recognizing one's God-given worth, I realized, is made possible when we learn to practice kindness. Treating people with kindness, and treating them with dignity, are almost the same thing. And they are much more important than I realized.

For me, that is an important part of César Chávez’s witness. Not just what he did, but how he did it. As much as he fought against the injustice of agribusiness, it’s hard to find anything written or spoken by him that dehumanizes the wealthy landowners and growers personally. He practiced nonviolence, even when those working with him were threatened or killed for speaking out. He chose to live in poverty, taking for himself a subsistence wage even though he could have commanded a six-figure salary as the head of a large, influential union. His witness was made powerful not just by the work he did and the things he said, but also by how he lived. His witness was made powerful by his kindness, and the dignity he afforded to every human being, no matter who they were.

I share this with you today because of Jesus’s words to us, his words that “you will be my witnesses.” These are Jesus’s last words to his disciples and to all those who would follow them, including us: “you will be my witnesses. You will be my witnesses right here in Jerusalem. You will be my witnesses in the communities and regions of Judea and Samaria. From your doorsteps to the ends of the earth, you will be my witnesses.”

The movie Saved – one of my favorite movies of all time – follows a group of friends at a Christian high school. There’s Hillary Faye, who’s perfect in every way. She has all the answers as well as the respect of the entire school. A modern-day Pharisee.

Then there’s Mary. Mary has a lot more questions than she does answers, and she struggles with those questions throughout the movie.

Hillary Faye decides that what Mary needs is a witness. What Mary needs, she thinks, is someone who will “witness” to Mary the perfect love of God for those who just overlook the questions and have faith.

But Mary can’t overlook the questions, and she can’t accept Hillary Faye’s simplistic explanations of God’s love. The two of them get into an argument, and Hillary Faye actually throws a Bible at Mary – literally picks up a Bible and chucks it at Mary’s head – as she screams, “I am full of God’s love!”

Not a very convincing witness.

As some of you know, there is, around the corner from where I live, a bar that has inside a game called the Lobster Zone. It’s like those things filled with stuffed animals where you put in some money and maneuver a mechanical claw in an attempt to retrieve the toy, except this particular game has live lobsters instead of stuffed animals.

For several months now, a group of protesters has been gathering on the sidewalk in front of the bar. They believe that it is wrong to kill animals for entertainment.

I respect that belief. Once upon a time, people treated the killing of animals for food as a sacred act, giving thanks to God and sometimes even to the spirit of the animal itself for its sacrifice that provides food for us to eat, and leather and fur for clothing and, in some cases, shelter.

Of course, the protesters’ desire is for everyone to become vegetarian or vegan. That is also a belief that I can respect. Choosing to be vegetarian is an act of kindness. But treating the necessary killing of animals for food as a holy, sacred event is also an act of kindness.

To get their message across, however, the protesters outside the bar scream at passersby, even using a megaphone when they think the police aren’t looking. They follow bar patrons around, yelling at them and harassing them. The sound of their angry chants reaches my house and many others in the neighborhood. Little girls walking to ballet class are frightened by the protesters, as are the neighborhood dogs.

When a group that supports animal rights is setting everyone’s pets on edge, I think it’s safe to say that they are compromising their own witness. When a group that professes a belief in kindness and in respect for all living things causes little girls in pink leotards and ballet slippers to hide behind their parents, I think it’s safe to say that they are undermining their own witness.

All this has left me wondering about my own witness, and the witness of our church. We are all witnesses, whether we realize it or not. The question is, what kind of witnesses are we?

What kind of a witness are you to the people who live next door? Are you a witness of love? Of kindness?

Some folks don’t even know their next door neighbors by name. Their witness, then, is one of not caring. Their life bears witness to a God who doesn’t care.

That, of course, is a false witness. Your life – how you live – is a witness. If people see you, a follower of Jesus, and they see you not making an effort to at least be friendly, to get to know them, then you’re witnessing to a God who isn’t friendly, a God who doesn’t care, and that is a false witness … and “thou shalt not bear false witness.”

Perhaps it’s time to introduce ourselves to our neighbors.

I actually did this last week. We have a number of neighbors here at the church, people whose property backs up to our parking lot, our property, residents on the east and south side of the church, and businesses over on the west side.

Last week, I realized, I didn’t even know who they were; and that, I realized, was not a very good witness.

So I knocked on some doors, introduced myself. I let them know that we as a church wanted to be a good neighbor, and I invited them to let me know if they had any suggestions as to how we could do that. To my surprise they were very happy to receive my kindness and introduction, and they responded with great kindness in return.

You see, last week I decided that I didn’t want our witness to be a witness of hostility or even indifference. I wanted us to have a witness of kindness. I wanted us to have a witness of love. I wanted us to have a witness of recognizing our common humanity with those around us.

Hitting someone over the head with a Bible (literally or figuratively) does not bear witness to God’s love. Shouting angrily at someone does not bear witness to God’s kindness. Ignoring one’s neighbor does not bear witness to the God who calls each person by name.

You are a witness for Christ. What kind of a witness are you?