He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire

 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.  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 the wheat into His barn; but he chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."

And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.  But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.

When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.  And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."

- Luke 3:15-22

Yesterday we read that in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the Lord;  Make His paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low;  The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"  Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin 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."   So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."

 Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.  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 the wheat into His barn; but he chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."  It's an important piece of information here that Luke gives us first, that the people were in expectation of the Messiah, the Christ.  It tells us more about the time and the place.  Fire in this context has the primary meaning of the gift of the Holy Spirit, my study bible tells us.  The Holy Spirit will be given to the world at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), so John's words are within his role as prophet.  Furthermore, fire declares the judgment of Christ,  in which the faithless will burn (see 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10; 2:8).  The really essential thing to understand is that this fire is one and the same.  It is the same Power and the same Spirit which both enlivens the faithful and destroys the faithless, as my study bible puts it.  There is one holy fire, the presence and energy of God; all depends on how we respond to it.

And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.  But Herod the tetrarch, being rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done, also added this, above all, that he shut John up in prison.  Herod had divorced his own wife and married Philip's wife Herodias while Philip was still living.  This was against Jewish law, and John was outspoken about it.

When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.  And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased."  Although Jesus doesn't need baptism for repentance or any other purpose, in being baptized He accomplishes several things.  Jesus affirms John's ministry, first of all.  He is revealed by the Father and the Holy Spirit to be the Christ, beloved Son of God.  He identifies with His people by descending into the waters with them.  As submerging into the water simulates death, He prefigures His own death, giving baptism its ultimate meaning.  By entering the waters, Jesus sanctifies the waters of the world for future Christian baptism.  He also fulfills the many types given in the Old Testament, my study bible adds, such as when Moses led the people from bondage through the Red Sea (Exodus 14), and when the ark of the covenant was carried into the Jordan so that people could enter the Promised Land (Joshua 3; 4).  Finally, through His baptism, Jesus opens heaven to a world that is separated from God through sin.

The most stunning thing, perhaps, in a quite a sea of stunning things in today's reading, is the revelation of the Trinity through Jesus' baptism.  That is, Father, Son, and Spirit in the Father's voice, the revelation of Christ as Son, and the Holy Spirit descending like a dove.  This is called Epiphany (Manifestation) or Theophany (Manifestation of God).  Right from the start of His ministry, God is revealed through Him, and the people are given "heaven," as my study bible says.  The understanding of God as fire is one that will continue to give us an understanding of the power of God and the energies of God.  There is an ancient teaching about the power of the Holy Spirit, and our capacity to become "God-like."  A piece of metal may be put into a fire in order to be forged.  The metal takes on properties of the fire, becoming red with its heat and energy.  But regardless of the shape into which the metal is then able to be forged, it does not become the fire, although it may take on its characteristics.  So are we in the "forge" of the Holy Spirit, in the power of God's love and mercy, in the energies of God.  We are capable of taking on qualities that make us "like God."  Such are the fruits of the Spirit as named by St. Paul, for example, when he writes, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).   To be in the presence and energies of God, this great unquenchable fire, and to resist and reject such is to burn in the fire, to experience hell.  This fire and its energies are love, but we may resist love and reject its call for ourselves and where it would take us, choosing to cling rather to what burns instead.  As such we identify with that which is opposed to it, which fails to thrive.  There is no other fire.  There is only Gods' love.  But we are free.  Such is the news here, the revelation of God.  Would we become "like Him?"  Jesus is here to reveal that, and so much more.