Witness grounded in the resurrection

“In our world today, it is entirely too easy to witness all kinds of brutality and alienation, and yet not to bear witness. We can watch the news reports… but if all we do is watch, how is that different from voyeurism? The voyeur’s eyes are not soft, for they look in expectation of titillation, of being stimulated, of gaining something for oneself; and once that is satisfied, they look away. The eyes of a witness see the hard things and do not look away.

How might we… be witnesses who are able to respond? Perhaps the task of followers of Jesus today is to adopt the “soft eyes” of the artist: seeing the brutal realities of life in our broken world, and not looking away. And more, to acknowledge those realities, and yet proclaim the presence of God—that God is yet present; remembering the risen Christ, present to the disciples in their upper room, and surely present to us now. For any true witness that we might engage in—whether for peace, against poverty, or any other thing—is a witness for Christ, if we are grounded in the reality of the resurrection.”

— Brian Young, 2021
Pastoral minister at West Richmond Meeting, IN

Reader Responses

How do you witness?
How would your life change if you considered yourself a prophet?

I would say I do consider myself a prophet. There comes a point in a gathered meeting for worship in which we all feel the Seed of God moving in us, in that we are all prophets. Prophetic wisdom is a physical experience for me, the raw encounter of Christ in my body, independent of a book or liturgy.

Milo S., Milwaukee, WI, USA
Part of my witness process is deliberately asking myself, “What would a Quaker do?”

For example, I am naturally an aggressive driver, but don’t like that, and want to change that. So when I get in the car, or am in situations while driving where my tendency erupts, I ask myself that question and I automatically smile, slow down, and get more empathic and courteous. And I am happier every time this happens. 

Jeffrey P., Elkins Park, PA, USA
I would stop talking and start doing, which is what I’m trying to do already.

Janis S., Riga, Latvia
I witness in quiet ways: I try to live my Quaker values; I contact my Congress-people; I occasionally write letters to the editor; I take photos of natural beauty and share them; We manage our 15 acres in Southwest Pennsylvania in environmentally friendly ways.

My current challenge is investing our assets in funds that meet Quaker values, especially that don’t support war.

If I considered myself a prophet I would freeze to inaction.

Anita B., Nottingham, PA, USA

This Week’s Messages

Mon Mar 30

Here I am, Lord. Send me!

“The words we Friends use to describe our prophetic witness ministry—testimony and witness—are judicial terms. They come from a time when Friends believed the world to be under God’s judgment, when we believed ourselves to be witnesses for the prosecution, testifying with our words to the character of God’s judgment, presenting our testimony as God’s righteous indictment of a world fallen out of the Life, and testifying with our lives to the way God wanted humans to walk over the world toward its restoration in Christ.” …
Tue Mar 31

What is Quaker witness?

“Generally, ‘witness’ refers to our actions regarding injustices and inequalities in the outside world. Friends are said to ‘witness’ to their beliefs; our daily behavior is our ‘witness’ to the validity of the testimonies. In other words, Friends’ witness is manifested by what we do and how we act in the world outside the meeting. Friends are known to ‘live our beliefs out loud’ or ‘let our lives speak.’ Integrity compels Quakers to notice and address what goes against our testimonies of peace, equality, stewardship, simplicity, integrity, and community. That noticing and addressing — that action — is Quaker witness.” …
Wed Apr 01

You will be my witnesses

“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.” …
Thu Apr 02

A witness has handled something true

“It is impossible that a mere man, with all his abilities, arts, and acquirements, can turn people from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, which is the very end and work of the Gospel ministry. Indeed, it must be inspired men, gifted by God, taught and influenced by His heavenly Spirit, who are qualified for so great, so inward, and so spiritual a work. Ministers of Christ are said to be His witnesses, and the credit of a witness is that he has heard, seen, or handled something true.” …
Fri Apr 03

Come to know the word of God in yourself

“Dwell everyone in your own light, so will every one have an ear kept open to hear the bridegroom’s voice. He that is born of god knoweth the deciding betwixt the good motions and the bad, and so cometh to know the word of god in himself, and so he beareth not witness of himself, but of the father who hath sent him, and so it is no more I but the spirit of my father which speaketh in me.” …
Sat Apr 04

Authentic prayer, authentic witness

“We need both a deeper spirituality and a more outspoken witness. If our spirituality can reach the depths of authentic prayer, our lives will become an authentic witness for justice, peace and the integrity of creation, a witness which becomes the context for our prayer. Out of the depths of authentic prayer comes a longing for peace and a passion for justice. And our response to violence and injustice is to pray more deeply, because only God can show us the way out of the mess that the world is in. And only God gives us the strength to follow that Way.” …

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