And you will be my witnesses...
| But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts1:8) |
When we come to mission, being present is not enough and so to witness takes on an additional meaning which requires being there but it also means to participate actively in what is going on. That is we become doers of the Christian message and mission. In the Early Church, and even today the idea of witnessing was a costly venture. The Greek term for witness is martyr; it refers to a person who sacrifices something of great value even life itself for the sake of principle. The greatest example is Jesus but we have seen this countless times throughout history. An example is the German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer who became a martyr for the faith in 1945. He is an example of courage and commitment who enacted his witness status, having said:
"When Christ calls a [hu]man, he bids him come and die."
"Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life".
Today, in being witnesses we constantly run the risk of co-opting the gospel on behalf on a particular or special group, or culture and live it in small private circles devoid of a missionary spirit -- but the task of making disciples and witnessing is universal.
The disciples formed the first community of witnesses and demonstrated God's dynamic plan through their empowerment in every aspect of their transformed lives. It was not enough to report what they had seen. They became involved in encounters with the risen Christ as Jesus opened their minds to understand the scriptures. So apart from their experience of their Lord, they required historical wisdom and insight as they received their apostolic adulthood and mission. Then, as now, their faith and ours will be tested in the presence of resistance, indifference and criticism of others. Our responsibility is to bear fruit.
So ours is not a stand still and wait ministry. We have to proclaim life in the midst of situations of long standing and increasing injustice, of many types of violence trampling on basic human rights. We are to proclaim with humility and without fear of the powerful of this world rather than with the attitude of possessing the totality of the truth. However, we see Jesus' teaching in a new light -- the light of the resurrection. We are witnesses of the kingdom of life.
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Graham Duncan is a minister emeritus of the UPCSA who has served most of his vocation in theological education and concurrently in congregations. He is presently a member of the college of ministers at St Andrew's, Pretoria.
