My dad received the gospel from my mom. My mom received the Gospel from a friend of hers she was teaching with at the time, and her teacher-friend received the Gospel from
. . . Jesus, if you go back far enough.
I've been thinking about this for a while now. A few months ago, it was Ascension Sunday, which takes place liturgically 40 days after Easter, hence Ascension Sunday-- the day Jesus ascended.
Anyway, Father Kinn was talking about how, ever since the ascension Sunday, Christianity has been a religion of faith. Once upon a time, if someone said to you "Who is this Jesus, anyway?" you could reply "Let's go see him. I hear he's in Capernaum right now." This would've been especially useful after he was resurrected (though it does seem like he only appeared when he wanted to at that point, when you look at the scriptural accounts). Then Jesus left us for heaven, and since then, we have had to rely on the testimony of those who witnessed him alive as a man. Some might take up the argument that Jesus really left his followers in a bind, as they were now forced to persuade people about Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection, instead of letting Jesus himself do the talking as living evidence.
But Fr. Kinn doesn't think so. He offered that it was necessary for Jesus to leave us behind so that our religion would be able to be based on faith instead of evidence; the historical Jesus had to be left behind so that we could embrace the echastological and spiritual Jesus, in faith. That got me thinking, and he's right-- Christ himself even said as much. Jesus told his Apostles that they would be better off when he left, because they would then be able to rely on the Holy Spirit, who can be with them always and everywhere.
So he left us. But in exchange, he gave his followers the Holy Spirit.
But those who do not profess Christ do not have the Holy Spirit yet (or do they? hmmm), so we must rely on our testimony to convince them. Our testimony is this: Jesus lived. And then Jesus died. Jesus was resurrected, and ascended into heaven, where he waits for those of us who love him, and for those of us who have not yet come to know him. How can we testify of this good news, of this Gospel?
Seriously, Kevin, how the heck do you know? You've only heard about Jesus because of your parents. You've never seen him. You've never felt him. How do you know Jesus did these things? How do you know he even existed?
Well, I would obviously say that I have felt and seen Jesus in my life, my whole life (George Strait: "I Saw God Today"-- great song). But I understand how easily that could be dismissed and explained away, and not just by those who would question my faith, but even by myself and my own hard and unbelieving heart, were my faith to be tried and fail. I've only recently come to understand this facet of my Christian faith, but there really is a much firmer and more ancient foundation than I used to realize, one that predates even the Bible.
You see, we evangelicals love to say the word witness. We love to call ourselves witnesses, and we often refer to the proselyting of our religion as "witnessing." But while I am a "witness" of Jesus' power and love, I am not an actual witness of his gospel. Neither did my parents, whom I received the Gospel from, see him, and neither did the woman my mother received it from.
now imagine this . . .
But 2000 years ago, a Jew named Abijah saw Jesus ascend into heaven. Then he told his wife Sarah about it. His wife told her friend Dinah about it, and Dinah told her kids. When they grew up, Dinah's kids started a new church in Asia Minor, and that church brought the message of Christ to a man named Cyrus, who moved to Italy, where he told several friends about Jesus. The grandchildren of Cyrus' friends were among the first to bring the Gospel to the Franks. 900 years later, a Frank named Guy led a Germanic, Pagan town to Jesus. 800 Years later, a man from a nearby city marries a woman from that Germanic town, where she received a strong faith from her grandmother. She leads her husband to Christ. Their children then emigrated to America, where their grandchildren settled in Chicago. A few generations later, a woman descended from those settlers began "witnessing" to a co-worker of hers. That co-worker brought the Gospel to her husband, and together, they raised their children as Christians.
And here I am. I will live, share this good news with others, especially my wife and our future children, and then pass away, leaving the message in good hands, all so they too can pass it on.
I come from a long line of witnesses. It is a very long line of witnesses, but we have been witnesses nonetheless. Each of us accepted what we heard in faith, and through that faith, we have then seen the Lord and received his salvation.
This is our faith. This is the faith that has endured for millennia, passed from generation to generation. It will continue to be passed on, from generation to generation, until all the world hears it. And then our Lord will come. We accept this in faith because, once upon a time, so long ago that it is untraceable, this faith was not faith at all, but was witnessed, founded, and then passed on. It will continue to be passed on, always and forever. This is our faith, and it will endure.
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