Can I Get a Witness?
A Church for the World by Rev. L. John Gable
January 12, 2020
I think you will agree with me in saying Easter 2020 is an Easter we will long remember! Who would ever have imagined that we, as well as Christians around the globe, would celebrate the resurrection of our Lord in isolation. Even watching the Pope preach to an empty St. Peter’s Basilica was a sight to behold.
Yet, in some ways our celebrations during Holy Week and Easter, in the way we held them, may be the closest any of us have ever been or will ever be to the way it was celebrated on that first Easter morning.
We read the Gospel story and are reminded that there were no crowds of people standing shoulder to shoulder outside the empty tomb; there were but a few women, who exactly not even the four Gospel writers agree.
There weren’t masses singing glorious hymns of praise, but a few frightened and bewildered women “filled with fear and great joy” as Matthew tells it, running from the grave as the first witnesses to this Good News.
In John’s telling it was Mary who was the first to make this surprisingly simple announcement, “I have seen the Lord…Christ is risen!” to which the believers through the ages since have responded, “He is risen, indeed!”
While Mary may have been the first to make that announcement, she certainly wasn’t the last. “I have seen the Lord” is the announcement of this Good News that has been passed from one generation to the next, from one believer to the next, ever since that first Easter morning. Each of us has likely come to faith by someone telling us, each in their own way, “I have seen the Lord.”
Today we have the privilege of listening to five of our fellow Tab church members tell us, each in their own way, what it means to them to say that Jesus is alive, and the difference that Good News makes in the way they live their lives.
We begin with long-time Tab member, Les Duvall. Les was a practicing attorney who served in the Indiana State Senate for 20 years. Now retired, he reflects on his life and work and faith, in the light of the risen Lord.
Les’ comments capture two of the most honest, heart-rending, and relatable prayers in all of Scripture, “I do believe; help my unbelief” and “Thy will be done.”
Mansa Samlafo Darku and Debora Amo have been a part of our Tab family for several years now. After coming to the U.S. from the African nation of Ghana, we have been blessed and privilege to watch as they are establishing their families and enriching our church family and community. Listen to the story they tell.
For Mansa and Debora, they have seen that Jesus is alive through good times and bad. His resurrection gives their lives meaning and hope and purpose.
The same is true for Kate Ems. Kate has served at Tab as a Deacon and an Elder and was a valued member of the Vision Renewal Team. She and her husband, Kyle, also coach in the Tab Rec program.
Kate reminds us of Jesus’ great invitation to “Come, join the party.” The announcement that “Jesus is alive” is the reason for the celebration. Not only does He give us the hope of eternity; He also promises to be with us now as we work to make His Kingdom known here on earth.
In our Gospel lesson this morning we witness a transformation of faith in the disciple Thomas. Our next witness, Jim Pfeiffer, talks about his own transformation of faith.
Jim asks the question we all ask, each in our own way, “Who is this Jesus? And where is He to be found?”
For Jim, Jesus is the loving and faithful companion for our journey of faith through transformation and discovery.
For Les, Jesus is the One who sits with us—in the tension of belief and unbelief, and in discernment needed to find common ground with others.
For Mansa and Debora, Jesus makes Himself known in family, in community and in the ups and downs, the joys and sorrows, of life.
And Kate reminds us that we actually participate in God’s work as we become the hands and feet of Christ. This is who Jesus is and where He is to be found.
Our thanks to each of the witnesses who have shared with us today, as each, in their own way, have helped us form a more complete picture of Jesus—who He is, what He has done, and what He is continuing to do. Each, in their own way, has shared with us the Good News Mary shared with the disciples on that first Easter morning, “I have seen the Lord!”
Now may we, each in our own ways, continue to share that same Good News with our neighbors and friends and a world that desperately needs to hear it. Amen.