There are many reasons to believe in the existence of God. One of the many reasons we believe is that we have seen a rich history of trusted individuals recounting their mystical interactions with God. They meet God face to face in a moment that defies logic and language. There is very little that is tangible about these moments. There are not many ways to explain these mountain top visions. And yet... these witnesses have TRIED to explain these experiences. They know that something HUGE has just happened and instead of believing that they are delusional or schizophrenic – they tell other people about their moment with the Divine. Many are considered delusional because of their witness. Some are written off as zealots, crazy. But some... some we are compelled to believe. We have lifted up St. Theresa's experience of ecstatic and rapturous intoxication with God as something to strive for. We do not doubt her vision and experience of God. Instead, we think “I'll have what she's having!” These testimonies have stood the test of scrutiny, skepticism and time for some reason.

For instance... Rome was not a Christian nation. Christianity was a fad religion. Picking up speed yes, but still not really thriving. Until... Emperor Constantine saw a vision of the cross in the sky. After that, Rome's symbol was no longer an eagle, but a cross. Constantine proclaimed Christian tolerance in Rome and Christianity was allowed to grow and flourish.

Perhaps not all revelations are as mythical and dramatic as Constantine's. Some come in the form of visions of the Kingdom, visions of the world Christ invites us into. Dr. Martin Luther King dreams of a future world where his “four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” These words were a revelation of Jesus.

Or take, for example, Kelly Williams, a homemaker that went out Christmas shopping at a mall with her five year old daughter. The chaos of the crowd separated Kelly and her daughter and Kelly frantically searched for the missing child. Finally, a man approached Kelly with her daughter in tow. He smiled as Kelly tearfully reunited with her daughter. Kelly turns around and the man has already disappeared into the crowd. Kelly realizes that she has just interacted with Christ in some way, although she's not sure how.

Or think about the story of the alcoholic that loses everything, hits rock bottom, and claims to have been spoken to by Jesus. A story you don't actually believe, but it's the strangest thing – this person has never touched alcohol ever again and seems to have things together now.

I could go on and on. We have countless accounts of people just like you and me and their fleeting interactions with God that last with them from that day forward.

In today's letter to the Galatians, Paul is telling the community why he is qualified to be give them advice. “But when God, who had set [Paul] apart before [he] was born and called [him] through his grace [God] was pleased to reveal his Son to [Paul], so that [he] might proclaim him among the Gentiles.”

Paul is one of those people that experienced God through a revelation of Christ. He did not stop and try to analyze the experience. He didn't visit the other apostles in the area to look for confirmation. Ask around if his experience of Christ was valid enough. He didn't check with his rabbi or spiritual leader. He simply knew that his life could NEVER BE THE SAME after Christ had been revealed.

Kelly, Constantine, St. Theresa, Dr. King, Paul... none of these people were taught how to experience a revelation of Christ. It happened unexpectedly. These people didn't try to explain it away but embraced it. And – luckily for us – talked about it. Shared their experiences. Some of them, like Paul, never stopped sharing their revelation of Christ with others.

We are called to continue the tradition of witness and NEVER STOP sharing Christ with others. This may be done by talking about our own experience of relationship with Christ, but I think you all know that we witness without words as well. We are to preach the revelation of Christ as Paul did with our voices, our actions, our values, our practices, our politics (yes), our body, mind, and soul, our creativity, our love...

By sharing our own revelation of Christ we give others that same revelation. Witness is powerful.

Some of us might struggle with this. We question our own authority. Who are we to share this news? After all, not all of us have had these earth-shattering, shining, trumpeting interactions with God. Not all of us came down off the mountain with two stone tablets. Sometimes it was just a moment of much needed peace. Sometimes it was a shared moment with a friend. Sometimes... it's something seemingly so small but you knew you felt God. But those are the moments that are the most important to share. Because people are having these moments with Christ and are not able to name them. They don't realize that Christ has touched their lives because they've never heard about it before. Witness is powerful.

Witness is powerful because it points to something. Not the specialness of the person having this touchy-feely moment with the Divine. Witness points to the glory of God. Paul is not boasting when he gives his testimony. He is sharing why he was called to deliver this message to the Gentiles. Our witness points not to our own magic moments, but to God.

And we will never be the same.