Sunday, January 15, 2023  Epiphany 2

Scripture Readings:      Isaiah 49: 1-7

                                       Psalm 40: 1-11

                                       1 Corinthians 1: 1-9

                                       John 1: 29-34

Testimony

This morning we’re going to talk about ‘testimony’.

So who has given their testimony this morning, raise your hand?

Well, actually, you all did, when you walked into St Simeon’s. You were a witness to anyone who saw you or knows you come here that you believe there is something important enough about the St Simeon’s Church community to get you up and out here for 10 o’clock on a Sunday morning. People may not understand your testimony the way you think of it. They may assume that St. Simeon’s is like your version of the Legion, or the Lion’s Club, or that maybe you’re just one of those fundamentalist quacks who needs to go to church. But whatever it is, you made a testimony that, for you, there is something special about St. Simeon’s Church.

The word testimony, or testify, comes from the Latin word ‘testificor’ which means “I bear witness”. it's a concatenation of two words, testis, meaning “witness” and ‘facere’ meaning “to make”. Even in the earliest times it was used as it is today as a formal written or spoken statement, especially one given in a court of law. And also, simply as evidence of the existence or truth of something.

The Greek word for witness is a little different, martus. So the act of witnessing is ‘marturia’ and our word testimony is ‘marturion’. You may recognize that out of martus we get martyr, but not directly. For the Greeks a martyr was simply a witness. However, as persecution in the Roman Empire increased it was appropriated to identify Christians who were killed for their faith. But a martus is not normally a martyr. In the scriptures only Stephen, recorded in Acts 12:1-2, was stoned to death for his faith. The apostle James was also killed but, like our own Lord Jesus, more as a matter of Herod, like Pilot, pleasing the Jewish leaders and seeking political gain.

So why all the history?

Well mainly to distract you from this morning’s topic of testimony, which many churchgoers find very uncomfortable to talk about. One of the official definitions of testimony in encyclopedia is, “a public recounting of a religious conversion or experience.” As a thing that is done it has gained notoriety, enough to get in the dictionary.

We somehow feel we’re expected to stand at the fountain in front of city hall wearing a placard and proclaiming the Apostles Creed until the nice men in white suits come to help us. We do not even broach the subject because we’re uncomfortable that, as much as we know this is not a true expectation nor is there any warrant in scripture to draw us to it, we might find we’re supposed to be doing this. And as a result, we stay as far away from the whole subject as much as possible. Seeing bliss through ignorance ensuring we do not open pandora’s box.

But I think that if we shed light into the testimony closet, we’ll find that the demons are not nearly so frightful. That possibly there are hidden treasures we’ve been denying ourselves by bolting the door and closing the light. And that is what our passage in the Gospel of John can help us with.

Just so there is no confusion, this passage in the Gospel of John refers to John the Baptist, Jesus cousin, and not the prescribed author of this gospel. I don’t think I’m overstating things to say that John was the quintessential example of a witness. By his own testimony and also that of Jesus himself, John’s whole life and mission was to bear witness, testimony, to Jesus the Messiah. So we are doing well I think, if we can glean some truths from how John bore out this witness and possibly find ways to apply them to ourselves.

This whole passage we read this morning is about testimony and witness. Telling someone else what you’ve seen and heard and believe is true. But I’d like to go back a bit to John 1 verse 20 and 21^[1]. When queried by the Pharisees about who he was John, “ … confessed and did not deny it, but he confessed, “I am not the Messiah.” And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.””

I think the first thing we can learn about testimony is knowing and confessing what we are not. As Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 6 “you are not your own? For you were bought with a price.” We do not bear witness to St. Simeon’s Church, or even the Anglican Church, nor the Church and Christendom as a whole. Our testimony, like John’s is not about us, our good works, our charity, our community. It is not we who are the Messiah, not we who can save you by joining us, we must point somewhere else.

In verse 29 John declares “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb! He forgives the sins of the world!” John declares Jesus’ purpose, to free us from sin so that we can know God our Creator.

And in verse 30 he declares Jesus superiority, above all others, “This is the man I’ve been talking about, ‘the One who comes after me but is really ahead of me.”

And in verse 31 John acknowledges his part in Jesus work “I knew nothing about who he was—only this: that my task has been to get Israel ready to recognize him as the God-Revealer. That is why I came here baptizing with water, giving you a good bath and scrubbing sins from your life so you can get a fresh start with God.”

And finally, John bears testimony to who Jesus is, “I’m telling you, there’s no question about it: This is the Son of God.””

And why he believes this “I watched the Spirit, like a dove flying down out of the sky, making himself at home in him. I repeat, I know nothing about him except this: The One who authorized me to baptize with water told me, ‘The One on whom you see the Spirit come down and stay, this One will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ That’s exactly what I saw happen,”

And one last thing about testimony we can learn from John follows, “The next day John was back at his post with two disciples, who were watching. He looked up, saw Jesus walking nearby, and said, “Here he is, God’s Passover Lamb.” The two disciples heard him and went after Jesus.” We are to point always away from ourselves and always to Christ Jesus.

Now that wasn’t so scary, was it? Being a witness, a testimony, plays out in everything in our daily lives. Everything we say and do, how we live our lives, the decisions we make about the use of our time, our work and leisure, our finances and relationships, bear witness if first they tell people who we are not.

We’re not the ones who are going to save them. Our way of doing things and our decisions are not the model that is going to get them into the kingdom of heaven or win for them God’s favour. Our witness should not say that we’re right and they’re wrong, that we’re somehow better than anyone else.

We bear testimony when we show Jesus’ purpose in the world, to be the Pascal Lamb, to open a door of opportunity for healing and salvation, to be free from that nature that keeps us from doing good, sin. We do not judge; Jesus will do that at the appropriate time and in a way so amazingly just it is humbling to contemplate. We simply offer forgiveness for sin and Jesus told us how to do that, by forgiving one another even as he forgave us.

We are witnesses when we humble ourselves because we know how far above us our Lord Jesus truly is. And although he loves us and lifts us up, we know, on our own, we are not worthy to untie his shoes.

We bear witness when we do the work he’s given us to do. Helping people get a fresh start with God. We don’t concern ourselves with matters in Jesus hands. We do what He has called us to do, care for the needy, do justice and worship God, always and in everything pointing to who Jesus is, the Son of God.

Like John, we should also know why we believe. John bore testimony to what he had been told and that it came to pass, what he saw with his own eyes. That the Holy Spirit would descend and remain upon the Messiah, and he saw this happen to Jesus.

And our lives may not be as dramatic and epic as John the Baptist’s, but we need to keep in the forefront of our hearts and minds all the wonderful ways God has fulfilled his Word in our lives. That first means taking time with God in prayer, scripture, and worship to hear what He is saying so your eyes will be open when these things are fulfilled, so you can testify that you believe because you saw them with your own eyes.

So, I think we can see that testimony is not such a difficult or scary thing. First of all, its not about us. It's about Jesus. And it's something we just need to live, always pointing away from ourselves and towards Jesus.

I like our reading from Isaiah in conjunction with this “"It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”” (49:6, ESV)

It is far, far too light a task for the children of God to simply be members of St. Simeon’s Anglican Church, or Members of the Anglican Church in Canada or even torchbearers for Christianity. We can, like John, bear testimony to Jesus in our lives and be a light to the nations, that Gods salvation in Christ Jesus may reach to the end of the earth.

Amen