Telling our Story
Acts 1:6-14[1]
At Easter time, it’s common to see the phrase “It’s not about the
Bunny.” As it turns out, that might not be entirely true. The image of a rabbit
or a hare is an ancient one, and its original meaning is difficult to discern.
But there is abundant evidence that the image of “three hares” was given
Christian meaning as early as the 13th Century.[2] It was associated with the
Trinity in many contexts. But the “Easter Bunny” originated in the German
Lutheran churches as a counterpart to Nikolaus, who comes to bring gifts to
children who have been good and lumps of coal to those who have not. The first
reference to an Easter Bunny playing a similar role is found in the 17th
century.
While the tradition of gift-giving at Easter as well as Christmas may
have originated in the church, I think I would have to say that Easter is the
celebration of our faith that death could not hold Jesus in the grave. Rather,
God raised him up to new life as a demonstration that God is in the process of
granting new life to us all. That is the true gift of Easter. And yet, as
foundational as that is to our faith, I would have to say that the point of
Easter is not just about the gift. It’s also about the astounding task that
Jesus gave to all of those who follow him: to bear witness to the new life we
have through his death and resurrection to the whole world.
The story that the book of Acts tells about the early church is a story
of witness—the witness to the resurrection of Jesus and the new life that comes
out of it. As soon as the church receives the power of the Spirit, they begin
to bear witness to the resurrection of Jesus. In fact, from then on, they
rarely mention the events surrounding Jesus’ resurrection without adding, “We are
witnesses of these things.” One of the amazing features of this story is that,
despite all obstacles, against all odds, the early church’s witness to Jesus’
resurrection is a great success. It is natural to wonder what made the witness
of the early church so successful. I think it was the fact that their message
was demonstrated by their life.
The message of the early church was that Jesus had been raised from the
dead by God, who vindicated Jesus’ claim to be our Savior. They proclaimed to all who would listen that
the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is a sign pointing us to God’s new
creation that is already working to transform us all. They proclaimed that the
resurrection validated Jesus’ claim to be the bearer of the kingdom of God, the
realm of compassionate justice and joyful new life. And they proclaimed the hope that, just as
God has restored Jesus to life, so also God will restore all creation to life.
But perhaps just as important a factor in the early church’s witness was
that their message was backed up by their life.[3] They lived out the good
news by their mutual acceptance of one another and by extending God’s gracious
welcome to all. They sought God’s guidance in prayerful discernment by asking
questions together and listening together for the answers. They lived out the
joy of the resurrection in worship that opened their hearts and minds to a
genuine experience of God. They shared their faith and their experience of
God’s love with one another by sharing their testimony. They integrated the
good news into every aspect of their lives through open and humble study. And
they went out from their prayer and worship and study seeking to put into
practice the compassion of God’s kingdom in every facet of life.
Some who study these matters would say that it was these practices that
made the early church’s witness so powerful.
I think I might put it a little differently—what made them so successful
was that their witness came out of the experience of being radically transformed
in their own hearts and minds and lives.
They were bearing witness to that which they had experienced first
hand! One of the early Christian leaders
put it this way: what they spoke about was “something which … we ourselves
actually saw and heard: something which we had an opportunity to observe
closely and even to hold in our hands” (1 John 1:1, Phillips).
This new way of living is the true gift of Easter. And it is a gift that
is for everyone, everywhere. I’ve used the analogy of an immunization before to
illustrate the power of this gift. Like a vaccination spreads protection
against disease throughout the body, so Jesus’ death and resurrection spreads
new life throughout the whole creation. Where the analogy breaks down is that a
shot usually takes effect fairly quickly to protect us from illness. On the
other hand, the new life Jesus “injected” into this world through his death and
resurrection has been working to transform all things and all people for over
2000 years.
In part, that transformation is something only God can accomplish. And
yet, one of the means God has chosen to carry out this work is through people
like you and me. As we live out the faith, hope, love, and joy of the new life
in our lives, we contribute to the spread of this healing power in our world.
But at the end of the day, we also have to speak. We cannot carry out the task
of bearing witnesses to the new life of Easter silently. We are called and
commissioned and empowered by the Spirit to share the message of Easter with
those we encounter. If the new life is truly a reality that makes a difference
for us, we are charged with the task of telling our story to others. It can be
that simple: as we tell our story, we too are witnesses to the new life that
Easter brings to us all.
[1] ©2017
Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 5/28/2017 at Hickman
Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
[2]
See “Three Hares” at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_hares
.
[3] Cf.
William H. Willimon, Acts, 52; cf.
also Anthony B. Robinson and Robert W. Wall, Called to Be Church: The
Book of Acts for
a New Day.
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