Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance

 

 Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. 

* * * 

 Now 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."

 

- Luke 1:1-4, 3:1-14 

 

In our recent readings, the lectionary has been focused on the Gospel of St. John.  Presently we read through chapter 12, in which Jesus was in Jerusalem at the final Passover of His earthly life.  He had made His Triumphal Entry into the Holy City, and spent time teaching in the temple.  On Saturday, we read that Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.  And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.  I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.  And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.  He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.  For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that His command is everlasting life.  Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."  Today the lectionary takes us to the Gospel of St. Luke.

 

  Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.  My study Bible notes that St. Luke was not a disciple from the beginning; however, he has a perfect understanding of the gospel because his sources were the apostles themselves. That is, the apostles who were the eyewitnesses of Christ.  St. Luke wrote his Gospel to Theophilus.  Theophilus was a prominent Gentile who had received Christian instruction (see also Acts 1:1).  According to St. Ambrose, Theophilus can mean any "lover of God," and therefore he writes, "If you love God, it was written to you."

 

  Now 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.  My study Bible comments on the high priests.  It says that while Caiaphas was now the sole high priest, people also recognized the continuing power of his father-in-law Annas, who was a previous high priest deposed by the Romans.  

 

  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins . . .  For the prophets of the Old Testament, the call to repentance was tradition.  It is a call to turn back to the Lord.  My study Bible comments that St. John's baptism did not grant remission of sins once and for all, but it prefigured and prepared people for the baptism of Christ which was to come (see Romans 6:3-11).  St. John the Baptist is a figure of the Law, in that -- like the Law -- he denounced sin but could not remit (or "put away") sin.  Both St. John and the Law point to the One who can do so.

 

 . . . 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.'"  In John 1:23, St. John the Baptist ascribes to himself the role of "the voice of one crying in the wilderness."  

 

 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."  My study Bible comments here that, while parents and ancestors help impart piety and holiness, ancestry itself does not make one worthy of God.  Each person in every generation, it notes, must bear fruits worthy of repentance.  Stones are symbolic of the Gentiles who would become children to Abraham through faith in Christ (Romans 4:16-18).  

 

Right from the beginning, St. John the Baptist's focus is on repentance, and preparation for the One whose work will bring judgment.  But, as Jesus will continually emphasize, judgment will focus on a lived faith.  In St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus' parable of judgment comes down to our capacity for the practice of compassion, what we do in living our faith (Matthew 25:31-46).   In St. John's Gospel, as we have just read, it is the living of the word given to Christ by the Father that determines judgment (see the previous reading and commentary, And I know that His command is everlasting life). According to St. John the Evangelist and Theologian, his Gospel presents faith as something much more than an intellectual acceptance of truth.  It is, in fact, a trust, a confidence, through which we live our lives and which guides what we do.  This is a much deeper bond within the soul.  In fact, in this deep sense, what we do, what we practice, informs who we are.  In today's reading, the people ask the Baptist, "What shall we do then?" St. John speaks of generosity to those more poor than we are.  Then those who are considered among the community as sinners also come to St. John.  The tax collectors ask, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  He tells them to refrain from the common practice of taking more than was required for the payment of taxes to the Romans, keeping extra for themselves.  And the soldiers as well, whose might helps enforce such corruption, come to him and ask, "And what shall we do?"  The Baptist's answer teaches them to refrain from extortion:  "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."   In each of these ways, then, St. John the Baptist is teaching the people what it means to "bear fruits worthy of repentance."  In other words, there are concrete ways to express in their lives the turning back to God, repentance.  Jesus also will speak of people in images of trees and the fruit they produce.  In the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus teaches, "For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks" (Luke 6:43-45).  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus will repeat the words of the Baptist regarding judgment:  "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (Matthew 7:19).  The lectionary begins our first readings in St. Luke's Gospel with its first verses from chapter 1, and then starting into chapter 3.  The section it skips is Luke 1:5 - Luke 2:52, which cover the births of St. John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, including stories of His early life.  The saints we read about in that section all form examples of what it is to live one's faith, to respond to God by living one's faith, despite fears and hardships.  Let us pay attention.