Witness—Nothing Less
When it was time to move from Cub Scouts and Webelos into Boy Scouts, my friends and our moms spent time visiting different troops to see which one would be a good fit. We eventually chose a High Adventure scout troop.
They went on the typical campouts that you would expect… building fires, hiking a little, swimming, whittling sticks to roast marshmallows…all the classic camping activities.
As a high adventure troop, they also took bigger and possibly riskier trips…which also led to many bumps, bruises, broken bones and big lessons.
One particular canoe trip is seared into my memory. A caravan of vehicles, some pulling canoe racks and others hauling the troop trailer full of supplies made its way across Oklahoma and into Missouri to camp for a night before launching and floating down the river for a few days.
When we arrived at the campground, we had no trouble finding the river, because the river was everywhere. The summer storms had dumped an incredible amount of rain north of where we were to drop in our canoes…
The river was almost 20 feet above flood level…meaning that flood conditions had been reached…and an additional 20 feet of water was running down what should have been a pleasant and lazy river.
So…as a high adventure troop…the wise decision was made to drop our canoes in the water, strap in our supplies, and begin the float at about 8:30am.
The second we entered the water, it became VERY apparent that this was a less than wise decision. The regular landmarks were whizzing past us…the cliff that marked the night 1 campsite flew by at about 10am.
We weren’t floating on a lazy brook…we were hanging on for our lives on a raging river…over rapids that were made worse by downed trees and their root balls sticking up like massive boulders for us to paddle around and avoid.
Around lunchtime, we hit our first major snag…a gigantic tree was felled by the storm…its trunk sitting across the river, blocking our progress.
We were stuck…and began to ask…what should we do?
We couldn’t go back…we had to make it downriver to the pickup point…and with no way to communicate with the outside world… we had to keep going.
What should we do when we’re stuck and can’t go back or around? It’s not a question for a group of scouts…it’s a question for the apostles.
The apostles seem to be stuck. Our lesson from the Acts of the Apostles is a portion of the Pentecost story…the coming of the Holy Spirit…and Peter addresses those gathered in possibly the first Christian Sermon after the resurrection of Christ.
Peter stands as a prophet and preacher, setting the stage for those who have received the power of the Holy Spirit to seize the narrative…to tell the story of complexity, salvation, the Messiah, and the fulfillment of scripture.
Peter preaches to those gathered as they enter a new time of their journey….one that has echoes of the road to Emmaus.
This story should be more familiar…two disciples are on the road to Emmaus and engaged in deep conversation…so preoccupied with their intense discussion that they miss seeing the risen Lord.
They know something is different about this stranger that walks with them, and they beg him to stay…still not realizing the full story.
Only after the breaking of bread…offering and sharing hospitality…do they finally see…Jesus disappears from their sight…and they question the burning in their hearts…the truth of the Good News burning through their very being…
They move from failure to fulfillment – from failing to see the risen Christ with them…to the fulfillment of the fullness of scripture as they witness to those they know…
When Peter asks, ‘What should we do?’ the answer is the same one we see on the road to Emmaus: to witness.
On the road to Emmaus, we hear how people see…and those listening to Peter wrestle with what to do now that they have seen. Those gathered listening to Peter could be any of us…frozen to the spot with decision paralysis.
When the world seems to be on fire…where war and famine are rampant…hatred and division continue to infect us like a plague…when blatant disregard for creation has disastrous consequences on the natural world…what should we do?
What should we do? What can we possibly do to make a difference? Should we wait until some line has been crossed before we stand up? What should we do?
We turn, receive, and witness…and the way has been offered to us in scripture, in the breaking of bread…and in an empty tomb on Easter morning.
We are the ones who tell the story now…the journey to Emmaus and the breaking of bread opened the eyes of those distracted from the Truth.
It was the Spoken Word and the Sacrament of hospitality and unconditional love that compelled them to witness in word and deed what they knew.
Peter’s sermon offers instructions to live a new way through baptism and the ministry of Jesus Christ …the gift of the Holy
Spirit…a new way of forgiveness and abiding love and generosity that risks changing the world.
We seem to live in a world filled with “those of a corrupt generation”
…a world where people cling to power and wealth
…where others are demonized not out of hatred, but out of fear
…and it is into this world that Christ came with power and humility to change.
It is for his followers to be against the worldly things…the powers of corruption…and turn this world on its head for the sake of the Good News and Love of God in Christ.
So what should we do? We witness…we witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ in word and action. We look to the Word of God to find inspiration
…to find the fire that will burn within our hearts
…to witness in the name of Christ Jesus in word and action
…in the name of a love so great that it is beyond our comprehension.
The Word of God has been used and abused for far too long…and the witness of those who seek to follow the Good News in a way that is life-giving
…for mutual liberation
…is what will break through the barriers that separate us and turn the world as we know it upside down
and
speak the Truth of the scripture we know.
We find a way through…like we did on the river. We had no option but to hatchet/cut through the felled tree in our way…and we have no option but to witness to the world that the living word of God in Christ Jesus is more than what has been used in the name of power and hatred.
Because if we’re going to be witnesses to the loving God in Christ Jesus
…witnesses to the risen savior we serve
…witnesses and active participants in the liberation and care of all humanity and all creation
…we simply follow the path Christ himself laid down for us –
to love our neighbors as ourselves…
to feed the hungry…
to clothe the naked…
to heal the sick…
to visit the imprisoned…
to practice radical hospitality to the stranger…
to care for those the oppressors deem unworthy…
to break down the barriers that dare to separate the kingdom of
God from the people of God.
The living word is who we serve…and offer witness…and action…and our lives.
The one who meets us on the road.
The one who is revealed in the breaking and sharing of bread.
The one who sends us onto the river.
This is the Jesus we know.
This is the Jesus we serve.
This is the Jesus we love
…and this is the Jesus who loves us.
And I am convinced and convicted that there is nothing…
absolutely nothing at all…that can separate you or me or anyone
from that same love and power and joy and forgiveness and
mercy and witness of Jesus Christ.
Thanks be to God.
AMEN.
Works Consulted
Allen, R. J., Andrews, D. P., & Dawn Ottoni Wilhelm. (2013). Preaching god’s transforming justice: a lectionary commentary, year A. Westminster John Knox Press.
Amy-Jill Levine, Witherington, B., & Cambridge University Press. (2019). The Gospel of Luke. Cambridge Cambridge University Press.
Carlson, P. (2025). A Queer Lectionary. Seabury Books.
Craddock, F. B. (1982). Interpretation; Luke. John Knox Press.
González, J. L. (2010). Luke. Westminster John Knox Press.
Green, J. B. (1997). The Gospel of Luke. W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.
Jeffrey, David Lyle . (2012). Luke. Brazos Press.
Jennings, Willie James . (2017). Acts. Westminster John Knox Press.
Maloney, L. M., & Ivoni Richter Reimer. (2022). Acts of the Apostles. Liturgical Press.
McCaulley, E. (2024). The New Testament in Color: A Multiethnic Bible Commentary (J. H. Ok, O. Padilla, & A. Peeler, Eds.). InterVarsity Press.
Reid, B. E., & Matthews, S. (2021). Luke 10-24. Collegeville, Minnesota Liturgical Press.
Willimon, W. H. (1988). Interpretation; Acts. John Knox Press.