Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make His paths straight.' "

Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

- Matthew 3:1-12

In yesterday's reading, Matthew's Gospel told us of the flight of Joseph, Mary and Jesus into Egypt. An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him." King Herod, when he realized he'd been deceived by the wise men, put all the young male children of Bethlehem to death. This is known as the slaughter of the Holy Innocents. After Herod died, Joseph returned with his family from Egypt. But he decided not to go to Bethlehem, because Archelaus, known for his cruelty, ruled over Judea. Instead, he settled in Galilee, under the rule of Herod Antipas, another son of Herod the Great.

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.' " The wilderness of Judea is a barren region that descends from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea. My study bible writes, "Preparation for Jesus' ministry begins with the call of John the Baptist to repent. The reason: the kingdom . . . is at hand. Repentance, which always accompanies belief, is a total about-face. It is a radical change of one's spirit, mind and heart, a complete reorientation of the whole of one's life and being. It is the necessary first step on the way of the Lord." John quotes Isaiah, and echoes the prophecies of Daniel about the kingdom that is at hand.

Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. John's clothing resembles that of Elijah, who also wore a leather belt. My study bible says that his ascetic life-style is in conformity with that of the Jewish sects, such as the Essenes, who made their home in the wilderness and whose purpose was to prepare for the coming Kingdom of God. It adds, "Monastics especially follow in Elijah's and the Baptist's mission of repentance and prophecy." We know that Jesus Himself will later refer to John as Elijah returned. Elijah was the prophet expected to prepare Israel for the Messiah (Mal. 4:5,6). John's radical asceticism, his freedom from attachment in a material sense, his devotion to the coming of the Kingdom, all give him focus on one thing. He was widely considered a holy man.

Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. As the reading says, many from all of Jerusalem and Judea, and the region around the Jordan, came to him for baptism and repentance in preparation for the Kingdom, and the Messiah. This gives us an idea of the popular expectation at the time, and the hope of deliverance from Roman rule. It also teaches us about the esteem in which John the Baptist was held.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." The Pharisees and Sadducees are among the leadership of the temple. The Sadducees did not believe in resurrection, and were an aristocratic high-priestly and landowning class. The Pharisees were a lay religious group that believed in strict observance of Mosaic Law. My study bible points out that while the Sadducees had no messianic hope due to their rejection of resurrection, the Pharisees believed that resurrection was attained on the power of one's good works according to the Law and that the Messiah "was only a glorious man." John calls them a "brood of vipers" which alludes to the enemy of Christ, the "serpent" or Satan. While there are those who "await the Kingdom" among the leadership, as a ruling group both the Sadducees and Pharisees will maliciously oppose Jesus. Jesus will condemn their hypocrisy in the practice of their faith. John's reply to them emphasizes the true spiritual fruits of repentance. If they are sincere, repentance must be genuine -- they must not comfort themselves in simply thinking that they are the children of Abraham. An almighty God, for whom nothing is impossible, could raise children to Abraham even from the stones. This warning is a play on words in Hebrew: "From these stones" ('ebanim) God can "raise up children" (banim). The coming of the Kingdom, and the anointing of the Spirit that is to come, signals the imminence of true Judgment.

"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." We note the repeated warning about fire, that the Messiah's baptism -- in contrast to John's -- will be one of the Holy Spirit and fire. All refer to the coming of Judgment, linked with the Holy Spirit. The fire of the Spirit is also represented in the tongues of fire at Pentecost. My study bible notes, "Christ baptizes in fire, for as the grace of the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire, so is that grace poured out in baptism." While John baptizes for repentance, the baptism of the Spirit will bring a kind of fire to each of us. It is the fire of God's love, a great gift, with which we either comply or resist: giving up to this purifying energy what we need to give up, living in its energies of love and becoming like it. Thus the fire of Judgment and the fire of the Spirit and God's love are one and the same. My study bible also points out that a slave would carry a king's sandals: "Thus John powerfully contrasts himself with God's Son, the Messiah." John, like a slave, is a devoted servant.

So John prepares the people for what is to come. But lest we are tempted to see in this reading merely a picture of a historical time set in one place 2,000 years ago, let us think again. This warning is for all of us, and it is as real and imminent today, as present to us now, as it was then to the people who waited in expectation of deliverance and the Messiah. We may have a completely different understanding now of what it was to have their Kingdom come into their midst, and into ours, but the words still apply. They are still vibrant to us today. The Spirit is a kind of fire, a fire of love and grace. And we who wish to enter into that baptism must also be prepared to give up the things that have to go, that will burn in that fire, that are not compatible with it. We know what they are: all kinds of forms of selfishness and limitation, an unwillingness to learn and grow and expand, and especially to grow in God's love, in that likeness, in the image God will give us for ourselves. This is the purpose of prayer, of the cultivation of the relationship to God. Christ is coming into their midst to reveal what this love looks like, to teach people about it. God incarnate will walk among us. But none of these events are merely in the past: they are real and present to us even now, as we remember that God can even raise up children to Himself from the stones, and look to ourselves and our faith to bear fruits worthy of repentance -- a true "change of mind." We still seek to "prepare the way of the Lord" and "make His paths straight" within ourselves, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit which seeks to be at work in us.