I remember once a few weeks ago, I was having a bad day. Have you ever had a bad day? Bad days can cover a pretty wide arc of human reality, but my day began with not being able to find my bedroom slippers. Then, as soon as I got in the shower, someone downstairs ran the dishwasher and I was suddenly receiving cold water therapy at no extra charge! Then I tripped getting out of the shower and broke the table in the bathroom. Once I was out of the shower and shivering, I reached for clothing, only to discover that the shirt I pulled from the closet had a stain on it. I know. These are what my children would call “first world problems.“ Suffice it to say, I was pretty grumpy.
Downstairs the coffee was cold and I was sitting at the kitchen table muttering some string of unacceptable epithets. My wife came in from her walk and asked, “What’s wrong?” I turn my head to meet her gaze. “What’s wrong? Why nothing, nothing at all. I’m fine.”
She continued to gaze at me, shaking her head and she said with a faint smile. “Right.”
My eyes popped open and I said, “What do you mean? I said I’m fine so what’s wrong?”
This person has been with me for many years and she just shook her head, kissed me on the forehead, and said, “Let me know when you want to talk.” I didn’t really have to say anything. My spouse of 25 years knew instantly that something was bothering me. My grumpy demeanor and my actions had given me away.
Actions, as we are told, speak louder than words. This is such a well-worn axiom that it could be relegated to the level of a cliché. It is, however, a true statement, and one that is brought up powerfully for us in the gospel of John today. Here we see the writer of John calling us to examine this cliché up close and personal. Today we are not asked to review a lengthy resume’ outlining what is done by this Jesus fellow. In fact, the whole question really gets turned around a bit because the reality is that we have a guy here who is strangely reluctant to talk too much about himself or his ministry.
Yes. I know. Scriptures actually have Jesus saying quite a lot, don’t they? I am not saying that he was particularly quiet in the sense of talking and sharing. In fact, in my mind’s eye I see Jesus with his head reared back, caught in the midst of a powerful laugh. He was maybe sitting at the table with all the wrong kinds of people; the kind I wouldn’t let my kids talk to, and he heard a joke or a comment, and he laughed. This laughter was pure, free, and open to the power of the fellowship. So, from my own perspective it’s not that he was withdrawn or introverted. It was really that he didn’t talk much about himself. When it came to his miracles and the things he was teaching his followers he would tend to get a little more circumspect. In fact, the gospel record shows a number of occasions when Jesus told his disciples and others not to tell anyone about what they had heard and seen. Biblical scholars even call it the “Messianic secret.”
In this reading we find Jesus in Jerusalem cornered by the religious authorities. If he was a member of my United Methodist tribe, he would be in the room with Bishops and Superintendents and staff from the Annual Conference. And what was it these people wanted? They did not want him to offer proof of anything. At least they didn’t ask for that. They didn’t wish him to back up his stories, and they didn’t really want him to repeat one of his miracles. Instead they asked him when he was going to make the announcement. When, they wanted to know, will you let us know that you are the Christ?
What a question to ask. It’s like being a firefighter who is walking away from the scene of a big fire that has just been extinguished, and as you climb into your truck people gather around to ask when you will let them know you are a firefighter.
So what did Jesus say? The obvious thing, I guess. He said, “I told you. You just don’t want to believe it. Everything I do bears witness to me. But you won’t believe it.” One has to wonder what it was about the announcement that these people felt they needed?
Imagine if someone approached you and said, “When are you going to let us know if you’re a Christian or not?” How would this make you feel? Suspicious? Wary of a trap perhaps? Indeed, what they were looking for was Jesus to actually say the words. When he made the public announcement they would then have the goods on him. He could teach and do miracles all around the countryside but these people wanted the words out of his own mouth to convict him. It was similar as Jesus stood before Pilate while he asked him if he was king of the Jews. Jesus replied, “You say that I am” (John 18:37).
The thing we need to keep clear about is that now, as then, we live in a world littered with words. In the present circumstances in our nation these words contradict, conflict, and give false witness every day. Increasingly, in our contemporary morass, we can say pretty much whatever we want. Statements and observations no longer have to have any shred of connection to truth or reality. We can, simply, say whatever we wish and call anyone with a different view a liar. It’s in moments like this that we need to remember that what we do bears witness to us and to our Lord. It reminds me of an old friend who would frequently wonder out loud as he glanced sideways at me, saying, “If you got arrested tomorrow for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” In the case of Jesus there was ample evidence to convict, but he refused to play their language games. Instead, he just insisted that the authorities simply look at his actions.
As I listen to the way in which the cultural wars have invaded the fabric of Christian community and we become chained to our ideological positions of being liberal or conservative or left or right, I hear the same questions boomerang back to us. While we are pretty certain that we are not the Messiah, the question of authenticity follows us in much the same way it did Jesus. They wanted to know. Was he the Messiah, yes or no? And today people ask us. Are we Christians or not? Are we? Do we follow Jesus? Or have we been reduced to knee-jerk reactionaries who issue forth from religiously tainted outlets for the shrill banter of the left and the right?
If we truly follow Jesus then let our lives be our witness. Let everything we do speak to the world around us and let us continually ask ourselves this significant question. If this is what we profess, would there indeed be enough evidence to convict us? Would our lives give testimony to what we profess? Or would we leave behind us a trail of secular, ideological bickering that hampers our ministry and our witness?
So it is that at the end of the day I am not overly concerned with what people say they believe. We know, don’t we, that people say all kinds of things? For my money I don’t need to hear a list of beliefs, doctrines, or rules. Show me your life and I will know very clearly what it is you believe.
Jesus said, “Everything I do bears witness to me.” Yes, yes, yes. It’s not just Jesus but we who claim to follow him. Everything we do bears witness to who we say we are as a people of faith. Let’s think back 24 hours. Has everything you’ve done borne witness to the love of Jesus? Everything? Really? I know that I was driving home last night and this guy cut me off at a stop light. The hand gesture I offered him definitely did not give witness to the love of Jesus.
One of the profound things that happens in owning this is that we have, in effect, taken down the walls of our local church. Everything we do bears witness. Everything we do at the supermarket, at work, or on the road — everything. We can no longer come to our sanctuaries and act religiously for an hour or so before going back to business as usual. In this moment we are called to a new level of committed, intentional living. Everything we do bears witness to Jesus, and that, friends, calls us out of this building so that we can be the church together.
My hope and my prayer is that we will open our arms wide and sing praises to a wonderful God as we live out our faith today, tomorrow, and the day after that in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.