Thoughts for the Day

Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, ‘Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.’ And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence.

Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

A good witness needs to tell the truth about what they have seen. The trouble is that over time the story can change. If you've ever played 'Chinese whispers' (it has other names), where one person passes on a message, who in turn whispers it to someone else etc., you will know that the end result can be totally different to the original message. I once sent a message around a congregation that said "There is a hat on your head, and I like it very much!" The final person heard the message as "There is a herd of cows in the field at the top of the mountain!" My mind rather boggled at the changes that had occurred.

So when I had to give a witness statement to the police about a serious incident, and was told I might need to report it in court up to a year later, I was extremely worried. Thinking constantly about what I had seen, I began to be unsure of all the exact original details after awhile, and to wonder if what I believed I had seen would be the same as the original statement I had given. Luckily, I was never called to speak in court.

After His resurrection Jesus says to His disciples that they are to be His witnesses! They ae to act as witnesses to the whole world, telling others of all that he has said and done throughout his three year ministry on earth. For up to thirty years or more they were to pass on these accounts verbally, before finally gathering them together in written form as the Gospels we know today. What is staggering is not the differences between their accounts, but their similarities, often in identical wording!

Today, we too are witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ - of how it has changed our lives - we just need to faithfully pass it on!

Lord Jesus,
help us to be good witnesses
of Your work in our lives.
May we have the courage
to ask for Your help
when problems occur,
and then acknowledge
what You have done for us
by telling others.
Amen