There are those in our society who stand head and shoulders above the rest of us … great entrepreneurs, politicians, writers, scientists and humanitarians. We look up to these people and wish that we were more like them. When interviewed, these great people might pass some of the credit for their success on to a teacher who has made a big impression on them, an influential mentor, or a family member.

Bearing witness is essential. Without witnesses we would know nothing of Jesus. Without John the    Baptist, without the disciples, without the writers of the gospels, we would not have Jesus’ teachings    today. Without our parents and teachers, we would never have learned our first bible stories. Yet there are plenty of people in our world that would still benefit from Jesus’ philosophy for living. There are plenty of people still consumed by greed, hate, crime obsession and misery. There are plenty of people who could still benefit from Jesus’ teaching if only we as Jesus’ witnesses could bring it about.

So why do we hesitate to bear witness? Well, first of all there’s something about bearing witness that makes us feel uncomfortable. No one wants to be the man in the city centre wearing the biblical billboards. No one wants to be the woman with her foot wedged in the front door predicting the end of the world. Yet all these people are well meaning and trying to get God’s message across in the best way they know how. If these aren’t the ways that we would choose then perhaps we can find other more imaginative ways, rather than do nothing at all. The challenge we are offered today is to reach those people who remain unaffected by God in ever new and more imaginative ways.

‘Seeing Jesus coming towards him, John said, “Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.’” (Today’s Gospel)