IT MUST BE ABOUT ALL OF US—NOT JUST US

Luke 3: 7-14

7 John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” 11 In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

John the Baptist is the harbinger of Jesus.  He is sent to prepare the way for the coming messiah.  He is usually portrayed as a man living rough, clothed in animal skins, living in the wilderness and proclaiming ‘the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin’. He was a prophet who challenged the people, called them into account and pointed them toward God.  It is important to note that John’s baptism is NOT the Christian sacrament we usually associate with the word ‘baptism’. John’s baptism was the acknowledgment that a person’s life and faith were misdirected. The first step in preparing for the messiah is repentance—the acknowledgement that our previous behaviors were leading us away from God instead of toward God.

Vernon Gramling is a Parrish Associate at DPC. He has been providing pastoral care and counseling for over 45 years. You can find more about Vernon, the Faith in Real Life gatherings and Blog at our staff page or FIRL.

It matters how we orient our lives.  We say the same thing—though much less threateningly when we sing ‘they will know we are Christians by our love.’   We believe that following Jesus means living a life of love. What is not said is the corollary, failing to live a life of love is a wasted life.  We may acquire money, prestige and things; we may be admired and well liked; we may be regular church goers and spiritual seekers but if we do not live a life of love we are wasting our lives and cannot be part of the only thing that is eternal—God’s love.  We can not keep anything that we acquire or anything that is temporal. We may enjoy those things but we can not find God in them.

In our modern tradition, those negative consequences of our choices are more implied than declared. John has no such problem.  He uses sharp indicting language (‘you brood of vipers’) and threats of fire (“Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”) to startle and threaten his listeners into realizing they were wasting their lives. John’s style is much more reminiscent of the ‘Hellfire and brimstone’ preachers than modern day celebrators of inclusion and love.  And at least to my ear, it is easy to cringe at the language and miss the reality that our choices can have disastrous consequences.

In real life, whether it is coaching, parenting or preaching, the dilemma is, ‘how do we guide and motivate people to be their best and to help them live a meaningful life?  Gentle or stern is not a binary choice. In real life, we need both.

But besides warning of the dangerous consequences of failing to choose God, John warned that the usual ways of defining righteousness and piety were misguided.  Religious pedigree or affiliation mean nothing to God. Our spiritual journeys, our faithful church attendance, and our familial connections to faith are not sufficient.  Reliance on these things puts us into the ‘brood of vipers’ deserving God’s wrath because we missed the point so badly. But if what seem to be obvious signs of piety do not make a difference, how do we turn to God?  ‘What then should we do?’ It is the very question the first century Jews asked.

 John’s answer is the same each time he is asked and it is very simple.  Do not be exploitive of others and be mindful of the people around you. Turning toward the Lord means turning toward each other.  If you miss that point, all other ‘religious activity’ is fruitless. No matter how important it is to cultivate a relationship with God, if that relationship does not lead us to be less exploitive and more mindful, we are fooling ourselves to believe we are turned toward God.   

When Jesus chose to be baptised by John.  He chose to make his ministry about the centrality of mindfulness and love. Latter we are to learn a lot more about what such a path means and what it costs to love but this pathway was set in John’s baptism of Jesus.  The Holy Spirit blessed him with the words “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” The seeds of Christianity were planted in the ground John prepared.  

In real life, we are all self absorbed and secular values reenforce ‘what’s best for me is what is best’.  In the first century, tax collectors often paid for their positions so that that could generate extra income by overtaxing others.  Soldiers were not only trained fighters, they carried weapons. It was easy to use their power to demand money or goods. The people did not like these behaviors but they were not surprised by them.  If someone has an edge, they used their edge to their advantage. Secular values make getting ahead about finding a way to gain an edge. (Sometimes you’re the nail and sometimes you’re the hammer—much better to be the hammer.)  But John, and by extension, Jesus, said gaining at the expense of another is not ok. It is sinful. It leads us away from God.

These issues have not gone away.  Our political system increasingly is about who wins not what is best for the country.  And worse, it is about getting even more than seeking reconciliation. In marriage counseling, I have a rule that the couple must agree that it is not ok to hurt the other because they have been hurt.  The temptation to strike back and ‘even the score’ and to justify returning pain is often overwhelming but it becomes an absolute dead end.

John’s baptism of repentance marked the choosing to turn away from measuring life by our self gain to measuring life by our contribution to the common good.   It requires mindfulness and care for everyone we encounter. In real life, this is not consistently possible. But it is the direction to which God calls us. That’s what it means to “ Bear fruits worthy of repentance.”  That is the life Jesus was baptised to and that is the life to which He calls us. Our faith is never a private faith. It always leads us to each other. It is always lived in community.

Lord, help us to trust in your sufficiency.  Give us the courage to be vulnerable, mindful and caring.  Let it be so.

Vernon Gramling is a Parrish Associate at DPC. He has been providing pastoral care and counseling for over 45 years. You can find more about Vernon, the Faith in Real Life gatherings and Blog at our staff page or FIRL.