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January 20, 2008 sermon

Bearing Witness
(Isaiah 49: 1-6;; John 1: 29-34)

Reverend Minister Sally Harris

The Psalmist prayed:
I call each of you to open your inner ears, to see with spiritual eyes And to trust that even amidst the outward chaos, all is working toward the wholeness of humanity. Bring to our recollection all that we have denied so that we might help rebuild the soul of the world with trust, love and wonder ~adapted from Psalms for Praying, by Nan Merrill Ps. 145

It came as such a surprise to me!
I did not know who it was; but for this I came baptizing with water, that the one who was to come might be revealed.

Suddenly… it was like a vision and I declared: Behold the Lamb of God… where those words came from is still unclear to me… it is a saying that has such a complex background – the apocalyptic lamb who dried tears and fought evil, the suffering servant of Isaiah, the Passover lamb – there is even ancient lore that speaks of the Lamb of God as a celestial entity – a living servant of God, a cosmic leader… At this point I only know those words came tumbling forth from deep within me:

“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
But how I wonder can a lamb of any kind take away the sin of the world? How can something so breezily light take away such a massive burden? How can such a playful innocent image of lamb possibly take away all that is negative, all that burdens the world – the guilt, the violence, the injustices…but before I could figure out the meaning of these words I found myself describing the spirit I experienced as “descending like a dove”.

The taking away of the negative; the coming of the positive. And yes I knew the Scriptures – the dove extending an olive branch declaring that the “sin of the world” had been washed away with a flood… but these thoughts were not in me… It was the experience of seeing this one – experiencing in Jesus something so profound yet simple, so powerful yet innocent. My words seemed so inadequate – I could only sputter weird things about lambs and doves. And yet there it was - two images evoking the aspect and action of this godly, holy presence. Two processes – removing burdens (of what ever weighs you down) and the granting of the free-flowing spirit… A heavy burden gives way to a presence that is light and graceful.

Indeed in this one named Jesus I saw the chosen of God – a person so open to the divine presence that all my words seemed inadequate. Yet I struggled to bear witness to that which I saw and experienced. Lambs and doves… these were the images. Into a world that seemed so lost, so chaotic and cruel, dark and in despair this one came as an aura of playful innocence – a lamb taking it all away and a dovelike Spirit bringing peace. From my sole lonely voice of crying in the wilderness I felt this inner transformation – transforming the feeling of being overwhelmingly burdened to the feeling of being in the presence of light, in the presence of the holy. And so I bear witness to that moment; to this one who still brings light and grace and closeness to God.

What do you bear witness to within you? Where have you felt the holy? What words have stirred you? What presence has overcome you so that your words seem inadequate?

Perhaps that is why God brings us together as a community. Jesus did not merely bring a message or a miracle. Jesus created a group - a community that was to be a bearer of grace. A community that holds out a container of grace reminding us of God's presence in times of waiting and uncertainty. We are the ones who have been called, washed, named, promised and sent forth to bear witness to the good news that God is present. We gather here as witnesses to the unknown, invisible God through a community identified by water, by prayer and by the spirit. Amen

[resource: The Gospel According to John by Thomas Brodie]

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