In today’s gospel story, Pilate cornered Jesus on the witness stand. Pilate grilled Jesus like Perry Mason, trying to make Jesus crack under the pressure and confess his guilt. During cross-examination, Pilate tried to trick Jesus into calling himself a king. If he could have just got Jesus to say the words, “I’m a king,” then Pilate would have felt justified in condemning him as a traitor. But every time Pilate tried to corner Jesus into implicating himself, Jesus turned the questions back around on Pilate. Eventually it seemed like Jesus was the one doing the interrogating. Jesus said that the reason he was born, his very purpose in the world was to bear witness to the truth of God. “But are a king,” Pilate demanded of Jesus. Jesus answered that his authority didn’t come from the title “king.” Jesus’ authority rested in his role as a witness of the truth. “But what is the truth?” Pilate asked in words left off of the end of today’s lectionary reading. Pilate’s cross-examination of Jesus didn’t end up as tidy and conclusive as he’d intended. In the end, Jesus certainty of the truth of God left Pilate confused and questioning the very nature of truth.

“Witnessing” is an important part of the evangelical Christian tradition. To offer a testimony or “to witness” is a vital part of worship in many Christian communities. Usually lay people offer their testimonies in worship by telling the personal story of how God saved them. I have friends who can tell you the exact date and time that they accepted the saving power of Jesus Christ in their lives. They can tell you where they were, what they were doing, and what evidence they can offer of the moment that they recognized God’s salvation. In the black church tradition, “a witness” can be a simple “Amen!” If the preacher isn’t sure if his flock is paying attention during a sermon, he may shout out, “Can I get a witness?” And the congregation shouts back, “Amen!”… Can I get a witness!? … Now, we don’t do this sort of witnessing most of the time we gather for worship here. United Methodists tend to be relatively self-contained, self-restrained folks. We tend to come to worship to sit quietly still in our pews, standing up to sing every so often… but not too often. Praying out loud every so often… but not too often. I have African American friends who tell me that when they see predominantly white United Methodists worship, it looks like we’re watching a tennis match. We watch the action in strict silence, clapping politely only in the appropriate places. Whereas they’re more used to worship being like attending a rowdy football game, where people stand and shout all the time. Some people worship like they expect that their shouts and applause and encouragement will have a real impact. Like really passionate football fans watching the game, some Christians witness to their faith in worship loudly, spontaneously and emotionally. I don’t think that we need to shout and stomp in order to witness to the saving power of God. I don’t think that we need to worship in any one certain way to testify to the work of God in our lives. But I do believe that we ought to remind ourselves continually that faith is not a spectator sport at all. We aren’t consumers when we gather to worship and praise. We aren’t on the sidelines when we worship. We’re the players. We’re called to speak up, to speak out, and to bear witness to the saving power of Jesus Christ in our lives.

When Jesus spoke about being a witness to the truth of God, he wasn’t speaking of the passive sense of the word “witness.” Jesus wasn’t talking about just observing the truth of God, witnessing it happening with his eyes and ears. Instead, Jesus was talking about bearing witness, giving testimony, speaking and providing evidence of the truth of God. Christ calls every Christian to be that sort of witness of the power and truth of God. We’re called to the activity of witnessing that will move us and change us and affect the world around us. To be a witness isn’t to be a bystander. WE aren’t meant to sit in the pew at church watch God-things happen up front. We’re called to witness to the truth by making God-things happen all the time, everywhere we go. The Christian faith calls us to take action, to risk ourselves, and to make ourselves vulnerable in witnessing to our faith in God. In Greek, the word, “to witness” is derived from the same Greek word as “martyr.” The gospels powerfully connect the personal witness of our faith with putting our lives on the line. To witness can be a risky, courageous activity for the faithful. The movie “Witness” tells the story of a young boy who witnessed a murder. In the moment of witnessing this crime, the boy’s life was placed in immediate danger. His life was at risk because of what he saw and what he knew. He possessed a dangerous power because of how he could affect the lives of others if he were to tell about what he witnessed. The act of witnessing to our faith can change who we are and how the world responds to us as well. The Christian witness is dangerously powerful. Our witness of the truth of God makes us vulnerable and gives us the power to affect the lives of others and change the world. Christianity is generally palatable as long as we stick to talking about loving everyone. It doesn’t require a lot on our part to say that our faith is based on love and kindness and justice… in general. But when we start talking about Jesus, when we bear witness to the presence of Christ in our lives, then the world starts responding to us differently. Talk too much about Jesus and we get lumped together with other fanatics who believe in bizarre things. It takes courage to shout “Amen!” and tell the story of when we first recognized the powerful love of God in our lives. But Christ calls us to dare to talk about hoe God became particular in the life of a man named Jesus. We are called to risk sounding like fanatics in order to witness to the world that Jesus Christ was God made particular. God isn’t just a God of general principles. Our God isn’t only concerned with love and justice and kindness in general. But ours is a God who is actively present in the flesh in particular struggles for justice. Many African-American slaves who rebelled against their masters did so because they believed in a God of liberation. They believed in a God not just of liberation in general, but of their particular liberation. And their belief, their witness of the truth of God helped overturn injustice. Many of the oppressed poor in Latin America have given their lives in the fight for freedom because they believed in a God of justice. They believed in a God not just of justice in general, but of justice for the poor… in Latin America… justice for them in particular. Ours is a God who is present in particular struggles for justice. Ours is a God who affects the world in particular acts of kindness. Ours is a God who loves, not just because love is a good idea, but because God intimately and particularly loves us. And we bear witness to all of these things because of our belief that Jesus Christ was the Word made flesh in a particular body, in a certain situation, at a specific moment in history. We’re called to witness to this great miracle of what God once did, and what God is continuing to do, and what God promises to do in the future. Witnessing is a deliberate action, a particular decision, and a dangerously powerful act of faith.

We are called by Christ not just to observe the love of God, but to embody the love of God in particular ways. We’re called not just to sit quietly in our pews, but to shout, “Amen!” and share the stories of how God has blessed our lives. When we witness to the truth, we can’t help but become part of the activity of God speaking justice and doing kindness. When we bear witness to the love of God in Christ, we help prepare ourselves and the world around us to recognize the particular works of God, embodied in the flesh, active in the world shaping and reshaping all of creation in the march toward wholeness and peace and justice. Can I get a witness!?