“Can I Get a Witness?”

Rev. William G. Lamont, Pastor

“There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.” (John 1:6-8)

Last Wednesday a member of the church asked if I would sign as a witness on some papers from their realtor. They had an offer on their old home and they needed to sign off on it. I asked him whether I needed to be a notary public to witness the document. He said, “No, you just need to be a witness.” I took that to mean that a witness doesn’t have to be anyone special, they just have to know the couple and can vouch that it was them who signed the paper. In spite of his assurances, I felt the urge to write “Rev.” in front of my name anyway. It’s the most formal signing of my name and that’s appropriate when the document is important, but also the title holds more credibility...it says that the person witnessing not only knows the couple but is their minister.

As I signed that document it struck me that there is something very easy and simple about being a witness and at the same time, something very serious and important.  It’s easy to sign my name and print my address – it’s the sort of thing I do every day. Simple, and yet very important, because without my signature that document can’t be sent. It’s invalid until the witness gives their stamp of approval. And it’s also serious in that if I were to lie in my witness or take payment for my signature, I could be prosecuted. There is a penalty to be paid for providing false witness...because the function of a witness is to provide credibility.

Back in September I was out golfing at Ocean View golf course in Norfolk with some clergy friends. We were on the ninth hole which is about a 350 yard par four hole. I drove the first shot about 240 yards which isn’t too bad, but what made it great was it landed right in the middle of the fairway! I took out my 8 iron but then thought better of it and went back and got out my 9 iron. I said to the foursome, “I’m going to lay this one right up by the flag”. I hit the ball and it hit the green and rolled towards the flag and disappeared into the hole! An eagle! It was my first eagle ever but what made it special is that three people witnessed it. One of them took a picture of the ball inside the cup and he said he’d mail it to me. I laughed but he did send it. And along with that picture was an official looking plaque that read, “Eagle: Bill Lamont, September 16, 2011, Ninth Hole, 351 yards par 4, Ocean View Golf Course, Witnesses, Jeff Bell, Tom Chadwick, Ted Hanawalt. The photo proves nothing of course, but the names of those witnesses on the bottom provide credibility to the claim! And that essentially is what a witness provides - credibility. A witness provides reliable testimony to the truth. That’s job #1.

And wherever the truth is important in our society we find witnesses are used. We use them to vouch for signatures on legal documents; we use them to provide testimony in criminal court trials. And witnesses are common to the world of religion too, where they testify to the truth. Jesus had witnesses to his resurrection - it was no accident. But you don’t have to go to the end of the gospel to find witnesses...they’re right at the beginning too. In fact, the writer of John’s Gospel identifies John the Baptist primarily as a witness. What makes him so important is that he came to witness to the light that was coming into the world in Jesus Christ. Granted, he did other things too - he baptized people and called them to repentance, but the single most important function of John according to this gospel is his role as a witness. John the Baptist was divinely appointed to testify that Jesus Christ was the light of the world. Just listen to the number of verses in this chapter that underscore this emphasis: 

In verse 7, “He came to testify to the light...”

Verse 8, “He himself was not the light but he came to testify to the light”

Verse 15, “John testified to him and cried out, ‘this was he of whom I said He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’”

Verse 19, “This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem...”

Verse 26, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals.”

Verse 29, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me...’”

Verse 32, “And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and it remained on him.’”

Verse 34, “And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”

Verse 35, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!”

John the Baptist is almost a misnomer in this gospel...there’s only one reference to him baptizing but there’s plenty references to him providing testimony. Time and time again he testifies to the light of God in the person of Jesus Christ. But why this emphasis on witnessing? Why does the Word (the Logos) need a word of introduction? 

Frederick Bueckner speaks to that question in his book, A Room Called Remember. He identifies two voices in the first chapter of John. The first voice is the one which opens the chapter and he describes it as a chanting voice, a poet’s voice, ghostly and virginal and remote. It speaks of things mysterious and eternal:  “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God...The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.”   

Bueckner refers to this as the great Logos hymn. Now, in contrast, the second voice is not lofty and mysterious at all. This voice is best described as down to earth, direct and clear. It even introduces itself so there’s no mistaking it:  “There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light that all might believe through him. He was not the light but came to bear witness to the light.”

In John’s gospel these voices go back and forth - first one, then the other. Bueckner suggests that the text itself with its antiphonal voices is its own illustration. “It’s good to have both voices,” he says. “The sound the second voice makes is a very human sound, and you need a very human sound to get your bearings by in the midst of the first voice’s unearthly music.” So, to understand the divine voice of God in our midst we need to hear the earthly voice of a person who bears witness to it. Word needs flesh.  

In the 1994 movie Forrest Gump, Forrest marries his lifelong sweetheart, Jenny. They have a son together, who is appropriately named Forrest too, and they are as happy as they ever have been in life. But then Jenny’s wild past catches up with her and she dies prematurely. Forrest buries her casket under a huge tree near his driveway. There’s a very touching scene in the show when Forrest goes to the grave of Jenny and tells her all about little Forrest and how fast he’s growing up and all the things he can do now. Then Forrest gets caught up in his own grief and says he promises to come there regularly and talk to her. “I just wish you could talk back to me.” As he walks away a flock of birds converge upon the big tree and they all start singing together in one voice. It’s as if Jenny is trying to speak to Forrest but the closest she can get is the praise song of all the birds.  

Jenny’s part of the universe now and the universe lacks a human voice to communicate. Songbirds are the closest it can come to communicating. So the first voice needs the second voice to speak for it and of it. So John’s voice is the one chosen by God to bear witness to this truth that was coming into the world. John bears witness to the light coming in Jesus Christ.

And that’s good news for us because John is not the only one called to bear witness. God gives us all voices to speak on his behalf...and it’s important that we use them. We need to speak up, proclaim the truth, share the good news, and point to the Messiah who has come to save us from our sins.  

Speaking up is important because witnessing is never a once and for all act. John the Baptist had a loud voice but even he didn’t speak loud enough to be heard here in Newport News in the year 2011. If we won’t testify, the next generation is never going to hear the good news.  

And frankly, we have to do a better job of witnessing than we have, folks. It’s a good thing that you are in church today but take inventory of your immediate family - how many of them are in church today? How many of your own family never go to church at all? They say that the church is never more than a generation away from extinction and that’s especially true now. The church is experiencing a decline in membership because the voice of the gospel is being eclipsed. There are a host of other things for people to do with their time on Sunday mornings now and many families are selecting those. There are a host of other things to believe in these days, including believing nothing, and many people are choosing to believe otherwise. So where is the voice of the witness in this day and age? Here it is! It’s right here in the pews on Sunday morning! If not you who is going to speak?

Now I know what some of you are thinking - Why do I have to be a witness? I’d rather do anything else but be a witness. Let me tell you, you are a witness every day whether you know it or not! Everything you do is a testimony to your faith. When you got up and drove to church this morning while your next door neighbor slept in, that was a witness! It says, “Jesus Christ is important to me so I get up on Sundays and go to church.” Your neighbor heard that loud and clear! I dare say most everything we do is a witness...either a good witness or a bad witness.

We need to get creative about the way we witness in this day and age. I have a friend who was in a large suburban church that was shrinking. The pastor wanted to reconnect with people but they were off working in the big city all day and didn’t get home till supper time or later. How do you reach them? He started making luncheon and dinner appointments with them. He recruited them for committees and engaged them in the work of the church and pretty soon he turned that church around! 

I think it’s exciting when the church finds new ways to bring the message of the gospel into the midst of the busy workplace of our day. There’s something real and refreshing about that sort of testimony. At noon hour on Nov 13, 2010, a group of people flash mobbed the food court of a busy mall somewhere in North America. Flash mobbing has become something of a craze in our culture - a spin-off of the texting generation. It involves a large group of people descending on a certain location at a specific time and performing a musical number or dancing or whatever. This particular group started to sing the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s “Messiah.” The music was piped over the PA system and a young lady on her cell phone stood up and sang the first line of the chorus...followed by two people singing the second line together...and on it went until over a hundred people were all singing that great piece of music as one. “And he shall reign forever and ever, Hallelujah, Hallelujah.” Beautiful. Powerful.

I got to thinking about that flash mob experience and it occurred to me that it’s really not such a new phenomenon at all. In the old days the church flash mobbed all the time at Christmas - it was called Christmas caroling. They’d get a mob of people together and give them each a caroling book and they’d go door to door singing carols to people. It’s a different variation on flash mobbing but it accomplishes the same end....it’s a witness to the community.

I’m told this church used to go caroling every Christmas. Back in the 90’s they even rented a trolley a time or two to take people around to different people’s homes to sing. This year, instead of going to people’s homes, we’re meeting them half way...we’re setting up a sound system outside where the pumpkins were sold this year, and the choir and the guitar group are going to lead the community in Christmas carols. I hope the community will show up like they did for the pumpkin festival. Wouldn’t that be great? I think the success of it will depend on this church community and whether they’ll show up... it takes a crowd to draw a crowd. So what do you say...will you join the flash mob? Can I get a witness? Amen.