I John 5:6-13
Rev. Dr. David A. Davis
May 17, 2015
Greater. Greater. God is greater than our hearts. (I John 3:20). Greater. Greater. For the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (I John 4:4). Greater. Greater. The testimony of God is greater. (I John 5:9) Greater. Greater. If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater….The Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. There are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree. If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater.
This weekend the Nassau Presbyterian Church family is honored to once again share in celebrating and giving thanks for Centurion Ministries and their inspiring and tireless work on behalf of the wrongly imprisoned. 54 individuals freed, more than a 1,100 years in prison for crimes they didn’t commit. That includes Barry Beech and David Bryant both re-incarcerated with Centurion continuing to work on their behalf. This weekend is the celebration of Jim McCloskey’s retirement. Jim’s retirement after 35 years. And so on a Centurion Ministries Sunday at Nassau Church, in response to the scripture from I John, maybe it doesn’t even need to be said. Maybe it is obvious to everyone. Maybe it rises to the level of common sense. The truth of it sort of blows through the building this morning: the testimony of God is greater. You can’t hang around the CM family for very long and not be confronted with the frailty of eye witness testimony. The testimony of God is greater. God is greater.
If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God that God has testified to God’s Son. Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts.
God’s testimony. In response to the scripture from I John, maybe it doesn’t even need to be said. Maybe it is obvious to everyone. God’s testimony made known to humankind in Jesus of Nazareth; his life, his ministry, his teaching, his suffering, his death, his rising from the dead. God’s testimony. A testimony portrayed in the Prologue to the Gospel of John with poetry, image, symbol:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
And the Word was God….
What has come into being in him was life,
and the life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not overcome it….
And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have his glory,
the glory as of a father’s only son.
full of grace and truth.
God’s greater testimony: the life and witness of Jesus. Years ago in a seminary speech class, I learned this brief monologue from Professor Bob Jacks. It is a reflection on God’s testimony.
I open my mouth to speak and the Word is there…
formed by the lips, the tongue, the organ of voice.
Formed by the brain, transmitting the word by breath.
I open my mouth to speak and the word is there,
traveling between us—caught by the organ of hearing, the ear
transmitting the thought to the brain, through the word.
Just so do we communicate, you and I…
the thought leaping from one mind to the other,
given shape and form and substance
so that we know and are known through the word.
But let me speak to a very small child and the words mean nothing,
for she does not know my language.
And so I must show her;
“this is your foot” I say, “and it is meant for walking.”
Or I help her up. “This is how you walk”
Until one day, “walking” shapes in her brain,
through the word.
God has something to say to us
but the words mean nothing,
for we do not know God’s language.
And so we are shown, “behold the man”.
God says, “this is the image, the thought in my mind,
humanity as I mean it, loving and serving.
I have put him in flesh.
Now the Word has shape and form and substance
to travel between us.
Let him show forth love, until one day loving shapes in your brain,
through the Word.
God’s greater testimony. Jesus of Nazareth. Maybe it doesn’t need to be said. Maybe it is obvious to everyone, Maybe it rises to the plain sense of I John.
The Epistle of I John where it says: If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin…By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says “I abide in him” ought to walk just as he walked….We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another….Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love another…..We love because he first loved us.
Just when you think that God’s testimony, God’s greater testimony is so obvious, so clear– God’s testimony in and through Jesus—you have to remember that the epistle of I John is fraught with God’s love working through us, Christ light and love being made known as we walk with him, in him, through him. If the scholars are correct that the epistle should be received more like a sermon, than a lot depends on how you hear it, the intonation and emphasis of the preacher. If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for THIS is the testimony of God THAT GOD HAS TESTIFIED TO GOD’S SON. Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony in their hearts. Or how about this way: If we receive human testimony, the testimony of God is greater; for THIS is the testimony of God that God has testified to God’s Son. THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN THE SON OF GOD HAVE THE TESTIMONY IN THEIR HEARTS. So much depends upon the “this”. God’s testimony in the person of Jesus. Yes. God’s testimony in the hearts and lives of those who believe. Yes. God’s testimony in those who believe and so love, not in word or speech but in truth and action. (I John 3:18). God’s testimony in and through us? Yes. Yes. All of the above. Yes.
And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life and this life is in God’s Son. It is the hope and the promise for those who believe. The hope and promise we claim when we splash in these waters. This morning we claim it for Crosby. Abundant life now and eternal life forever. And our prayer? That God would protect and watch over Crosby, or as we say at Confirmation, “defend your servant with your heavenly grace”. But the prayer too, is that God would make known God’s love in the world in and through Crosby DeBruin. Because God is greater than our hearts. Greater. Greater. For the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. Greater. Greater. The testimony of God is greater. That God’s greater testimony would be at work, one precious life at a time.
Not with your eye witness testimony, not with a steady stream of your pious and religious words, not by trying to tie a nice and tidy bow on the mega theological enterprise of a complex and pluralistic world, not in claiming for yourself a god-like role of deciding who is in and who is out, who is right and who is wrong. No, our baptismal prayer, the very call of God on the life of the Christian, is about the testimony of your life and how God’s mercy and God’s love in Jesus Christ and God’s grace through the Holy Spirit, how all of that; the mercy, grace and love of God cradles you, fills you, and works through you. God’s greater testimony. Greater. Greater.
It was Jim McCloskey who taught me about the unreliability of eye witness testimony. It was around our dinner table as Jim told story after. Jim can tell a story. Oh, he can tell a story. It’s part of why he is so good at what he does. Jim knows every detail, every name, every date of the 54 cases. Those of us who know Jim know he has never met a word he didn’t like. With his life and work, Jim has also taught me a bit about how God’s love works. But here’s the thing, when it comes to Jim’s testimony, Jim and God’s love at work in and through him. Believe it or not it doesn’t come with lots of words. It doesn’t come with Jim sounding all religious (that’s not going to happen). The greater testimony of God? It comes like this:
Richard
Mark
Milton
David
Cathy
Frank
Barry
Louis
Richard
Marcus
Darryl
Willie
Walter
Kevin
Johnny
Harry
David
Michael
Nick
Wayne
James
Gary
John
Jon
Dennis
Timothy
Michael
Clarence
Danny
A.B.
Ed
Ellen
Kerry
Geronimo
Paul
Steven
Richard
Earl
Edward
Eddie
David
Benny
Clarence
Charles
Gregory
Matt
Clarence
Damaso
Joyce Ann
Jimmy
Nate
Rene
Milton
Jorge
Greater. Greater. The testimony of God is greater.
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