He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire

 

 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 3:7–12 

 

In yesterday's lectionary reading we were given sections from two chapters of St. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 1 and chapter 3.  First we were given St. Matthew's genealogy of Jesus:  The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:  Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.  Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.  Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.  Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.  David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.  Solomon begot Rehoboam, Reoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.  Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah.  Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.  Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.  Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.  And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor.  Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud.  Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.  And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.  So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.   Then, the lectionary skipped to chapter 3, where we  begin reading about Christ's public ministry, which starts with the mission of St. John the Baptist:  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?"  My study Bible explains here that Sadducees were members of the high priestly and landowning class who controlled the temple and the internal political affairs of the Jews.  The Sadducees differed from the Pharisees in that they denied the resurrection of the dead, did not believe in the existence of angels, and had no messianic hope beyond our earthly life.  The Pharisees formed a lay religious movement which was centered on the study of the Law, and strict observance of its regulations  Moreover they developed secondary traditions around the Law, which they scrupulously followed.  They believed in the resurrection of the dead, and also a messianic hope, but they taught that righteousness is found on the strength of one's works according to the Law.  Additionally, my study Bible explains, they believed that the Messiah would be merely a glorious man.  St. John the Baptist's title for them, brood of vipers, will later be used by Jesus (Matthew 12:34; 23:33).  It's an image of their deception and malice, and their being under the influence of Satan.  

 

"Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, . . . "  According to my study Bible, repentance, confession, and baptism lead to fruits worthy of repentance.  That is, a way of life consistent with the Kingdom of God (see Galatians 5:22-25).  My study Bible comments that if a fruitful life doesn't follow, then sacramental acts and spiritual discipline are useless.  So, therefore, in many icons of the Baptism of Christ, an ax is pictured chopping a fruitless tree in accordance with the Baptist's image given in verse 10.

 

 ". . . 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."   This warning that from these stones (in Hebrew 'ebanim) God can raise up children (Hebrew banim) is a play on words.  My study Bible comments that God will not admit fruitless children into His house, but adopts other children from the Gentiles.  

 

"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."  This statement is tied to the Baptist's earlier command to bear fruits worthy of repentance.  My study Bible comments that fire here refers to divine judgment (see Isaiah 33:11; 66:24; Ezekiel 38:22; 39:6; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9).  See also the reference to fire in the following verse.

 

"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."  Christ baptizes in the fire of the Holy Spirit, which my study Bible says is the power and grace of God divinely poured out on all believers at baptism.  It is the same Power and the same Spirit which both enlivens the faithful and destroys the faithless.   Additionally, in the Baptist's culture, a slave would carry the king's sandals.  So, my study Bible explains, John is declaring himself to be even lower than a slave of Jesus.  His inability to carry Christ's sandals also has a second meaning.  To carry another's sandal indicated that one was taking someone else's responsibility (Ruth 4:7).  Here, according to my study Bible, it shows that John could not have carried the responsibility that Christ carries, and that the Law could not redeem the world as Christ has come to do.  

 

"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."  Winnowing is a process that separates grain from the chaff, so as to save the edible grain and toss the inedible chaff.  My study Bible explains that this is a metaphor for the divine judgment, which will separate good from evil.  

 

In last week's lectionary readings, we were given Christ's Farewell Discourse to the disciples.  In Friday's reading, Jesus said to them, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth.  It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.  And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:  of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."  The Helper, in this discourse, is the Holy Spirit.  In today's reading, St. John the Baptist speaks of the Messiah (or Christ) as He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.  Again, my study Bible teaches us that this is the fire of the power and truth of God, yet this same fire is also the fire of judgment.  It is similar to a flame that purifies metals like gold, by burning away the impurities and leaving the pure metal.  It matches St. John's metaphor of the winnowing fan in yet another way, for a winnowing fan uses airflow to separate the lighter chaff from the heavier grain (modern winnowing machines use industrial technology essentially to perform the same task by efficiently blowing air to separate both).  In Greek, the word for Spirit is Πνευμα/Pneuma.  This is the same word used for the Holy Spirit, and the more general word spirit.  It also means breath, or wind.  The same is true for the Hebrew word Ruach.  Jesus likens the Holy Spirit and His effects to the wind when He teaches Nicodemus about Baptism in St. John's Gospel (see John 3:5-8, especially verse 8).  The same fire that purifies gold and burns impurities can be likened to the wind that separates wheat from chaff, as metaphor for the work of the Holy Spirit, whose job it is not only to illumine spiritual truth for those who will accept it, but also to "convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment."  So, we take St. John the Baptist's prophetic words here to indicate what the coming of the Lord means for all the people, including the coming of the Holy Spirit for all, and particularly within Christian Baptism.  Moreover, John's words speak with the prophetic power of the meaning of the coming of the Messiah for all people, in that he speaks eschatologically.  That is, his words indicate the coming of judgment:  "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."  This is a prophecy of "end times," which in the historic mind of the Church began with Christ's Incarnation and will continue until His Second Coming.  Just as Christ indicated in His Farewell Discourse to the disciples at the Last Supper, the coming of Christ is a mission which will initiate also the work of the Holy Spirit, alive like a spiritual fire always working in the world, always testing and purifying, with His power working to reveal truth as well as what needs to be burned away.  Let us remember the power of our Baptism given by Christ, and seek to fulfill its promise with the true fruits of the Spirit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones

 

 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 3:7–12 

 

Yesterday we read that 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?"  My study Bible explains that Sadducees were members of the high-priestly and landowning class who controlled the temple as well as the internal political affairs of the Jews.  In a sense, therefore, they were a type of aristocratic class.  They denied the resurrection of the dead and they had no messianic hope beyond this life.  The Pharisees, it notes, on the contrary, formed a lay religious movement.  This movement was focused on the study of the Law (or Torah) and strict observance of its regulations.  They believed in the resurrection of the dead and also cherished a messianic hope.  However, they taught that righteousness is achieved on the basis of one's works according to the Law, and my study Bible adds that they believed the Messiah would be simply a glorious man.  John the Baptist's title for them here, brood of vipers, will later be used by Jesus as well (Matthew 12:34; 23:33).  My study Bible explains that this title is a description of their deception and malice, and being under the influence of Satan -- vipers being an image of the character of the demonic.

"Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance . . . "  My study Bible comments that repentance, confession, and baptism lead to fruits worthy of repentance, a way of life which is consistent with the kingdom of God (see Galatians 5:22-25).  If a fruitful life does not follow, it notes, sacramental acts and spiritual discipline are of little use.  So, therefore, in many Orthodox icons of the Baptism of Christ, there is an ax portrayed chopping a fruitless tree (in the image given by John the Baptist here in verse 10).  

 

 ". . . 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."  This warning is a memorable play on words in Hebrew:  from these stones (Hebrew 'ebanim) God can raise up children (Hebrew banim).  My study Bible adds that God will not admit fruitless children into God's house, but adopts other children from the Gentiles.   This is John's warning to the religious leaders.

"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."  See the commentary at verse 8, above.  Fire here is a reference to divine judgment, my study Bible notes (see Isaiah 33:11, 66:24; Ezekiel 38:22, 39:6; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9).  See also fire in the next verse.

"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."  My study Bible comments that Christ baptizes in the fire of the Holy Spirit, the power and grace of God which is divinely poured out on all believers at baptism.  Note how fire figures also in the verse above.  Furthermore, my study Bible tells us that in the culture of John the Baptist, a slave would carry the sandals of the king.  Therefore, what John is saying here is that he is lower than a slave of Jesus.  John's inability to carry the sandal of Christ also has another meaning -- carrying someone else's sandal once meant to take someone else's responsibility (Ruth 4:7).  Used here, it tells us that John is declaring he could not have carried the responsibility that Christ does -- and that the Law could not redeem the world as Christ has come to do.  John the Baptist himself is a figure of the Law, in that he is considered to be the last and greatest prophet of the Old Testament.

 

"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."  A winnowing fan was used to separate the threshed wheat from the chaff, the nourishing grain from the inedible parts of the plant.  This is a metaphor for divine judgment, which will separate good from evil.

Fire figures largely and in seemingly different ways in today's reading.  Let us first note that fire is an image of energy.  If we turn to the story of the Burning Bush in Exodus 3 we see a bush consumed with fire.  But the bush, as Moses observes, is not consumed; it is burning but the fire does not actually burn the bush.  "And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, 'I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn ' " (Exodus 3:2, 3).   Out of this burning bush that does not actually burn in the fire comes the voice of the Lord to Moses.  The fire energy renders the place holy, as the "angel of the Lord" tells Moses, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground" (Exodus 3:5).  The Lord gives Moses instructions, and tells Moses the Name of the Lord:  "I AM WHO I AM." And the Lord said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.' " (Exodus 3:14).  So this energy of fire, of the "angel of the Lord" and the voice of the Lord guiding Moses, is an energy that consecrates, out of which God speaks and encounters God's servant Moses, and although it is burning, it does not consume the bush.  In today's reading, John the Baptist speaks of fire in these senses, and in another:  the fire of judgment.  The fire of judgment is the same fire of the Burning Bush, but that same fire has an effect on soul and spirit:  it is a purifying fire.  It burns that which cannot stand in its energy, and sustains that which can receive it and find compatibility with it.  In a similar passage to today's reading, Luke 3:16-17, my study Bible comments about Christ's baptism as John the Baptist prophesies here, that fire in this context has the primary meaning of the gift of the Holy Spirit, given to the world at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4, in which we note the tongues of fire that appeared on the apostles).  It is moreover a declaration of the judgment of Christ, in which the faithless will burn.  But we must note that this fire is one -- it is the same power and the same Spirit which both enlivens the faithful and destroys the faithless.  John the Baptist preaches repentance for the people -- and the religious leaders -- to prepare for a new age ushered in by the Messiah, the Christ who is coming, bringing the kingdom of heaven which is at hand (see yesterday's reading, above).  This new age is brought to us with Christ's Incarnation, and John the Baptist prepares the people for His public ministry, ushering in what are truly the "end times" which will culminate in the judgment at the end of the age.  Let us for now be assured that it is the same fire of love, of the mercies of God, that judges, burning that which cannot stand in it, vivifying and renewing all of creation to be brought into the Kingdom.  May we cherish this gift for faithfulness that leads us on the path to such a joyful reconciliation, through a world that so remarkably needs it.   John tells the religious leaders of his time, "For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones."  The power of God is life absolute.  Let us ask for the power of God to raise us up as children to Abraham, to teach us to live that same faithfulness of Abraham, the living stones about whom St. Peter will so effectively preach (1 Peter 2:4-5).

 

 

Bear fruits worthy of repentance

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 3:7-12

In yesterday's reading, we began the Gospel of Matthew.  It begins as the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:  Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.  Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.  Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.  Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.  David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.  Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.  Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah.  Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.  Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.  Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.  And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel.  Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor.  Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud.  Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Mattham, and Matthan begot Jacob.  And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.  So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.   Our reading continued from chapter 3 of Matthew's Gospel, giving us the ministry of John the Baptist.   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 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?"    The Sadducees were a type of aristocracy, made up of members of the high-priestly and landowning classes.  They control the temple and the internal political affairs of the Jews under Roman occupation.  My study bible explains that they denied the resurrection of the dead, and they had no messianic hope beyond worldly life.  The Pharisees were a lay religious movement.  Their emphasis was on the study of the Law and strict observance of all its regulation.  They did believe in resurrection and in a messianic hope, but their view of righteousness was that which is attained on the strength of works according to the Law.  For them the Messiah is going to be an exalted or glorious man.  Jesus will also use the same words John does, "brood of vipers," about these leaders (Matthew 12:34, 23:33).  My study bible says this indicates their deception and malice, and being under the influence of Satan.  The Baptist's warning about the wrath to come clearly indicates an expectation of judgment associated with the coming of the Messiah.

"Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'"  My study bible says that repentance, confession, and baptism lead to fruits worthy of repentance, a way of life consistent with the Kingdom of God (Galatians 5:22-25).  Sacramental acts, it says, and spiritual discipline are useless without the spiritual fruitfulness John speaks of here, and mentioned by St. Paul in the excerpt from Galatians.  Here, John indicates these men rely on their identity and lineage as descendants of Abraham, rather than an identity as sons of Abraham by virtue of the spiritual fruits of their own lives, as Abraham lived his.

"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."  This warning is a play on words:  from these stones (Hebrew 'ebanim) God can raise up children (Hebrew banim).   The ax being laid to the fruit of the trees is an indication of the results of spiritual "fruitlessness."   The warning is of the adoption of other children who will bear fruits, from the Gentiles.  St. Peter will write to those in the Church describing them as "living stones" (1 Peter 2:4-5). 

"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."  My study bible explains that Christ baptizes in the fire of the Holy Spirit, the power and grace of God which is divinely poured out on all believers at baptism.  In the contemporary culture of John, a slave would carry the king's sandals.  John declares himself therefore to be lower than a slave of Jesus.  To carry another's sandal also meant taking someone else's responsibility -- John cannot be the person that Christ is.  It is an indication that the Law cannot redeem the world as Christ has come to do.

"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."  The winnowing fan was a way of separating the nourishing parts of the wheat from the chaff, an outer husk of the grain which is indigestible for human beings. This is a metaphor for divine judgment.

 It's interesting to consider the metaphor of the wheat.  Harvesting is a metaphor used repeatedly in the New Testament.  Wheat is also the substance of the Eucharist, of bread, the body of Christ.  We could tease out this metaphor by examining the good part of the grain; that is, that which is like what goes into the Eucharist, the bread of life.  What is separated out is that which is not of the substance that nourishes, not like the good bread of the Kingdom.   If the world is a garden created by God for human beings, then what grows in this garden becomes the theme we can read in today's reading concerning harvesting and Judgment, which is irreducibly associated with the coming of Christ, the Messiah, in the words of John the Baptist.  Spiritual fruits become a theme of essential importance in this view.  This idea begs us to ask the question, "What are we here for?"  It gives us purpose, meaning, and goal to our lives.  A "fruitless" tree is one to which the ax will be laid at its roots.  As John the Baptist prepares the world -- at least Israel, the people of God -- for the advent of the Lord, the Christ, he prepares them with a warning of Judgment.  Repentance and baptism by water (a kind of death in preparation for the new) are keys.  We are letting the past go, giving up ways that are not fruitful, letting what is fruitless die and be cast off from ourselves.  His warning is a prophetic voice teaching us about change, about the time we have in our lives to change, to think about what is truly spiritually fruitless, and what we need to cast off in order to prepare for the Lord.  This message, while warning about Judgment, is a great message of hope.  The Light is coming, the One who will teach that He is the light of the world.  While we live, this very moment, we have time for repentance, for casting off the old that does not render us spiritually fruitful, the habits of a kind of self-centeredness which has no use for the things of the Kingdom.  We cast away a focus that cannot embrace God's work in us, and dialogue with the Creator who has given us life, and also a garden to tend one way or another.  John turns our eyes to Christ, and in this sense, it is always a needful message, one that speaks to us right here and now, always contemporary.  Are our lives fruitful?  What do we need to cast off?  How do we need to "change our minds" -- the literal meaning of the Greek word for repentance used here in the Gospel.  What does it mean to bear fruits worthy of repentance?  This will always be something we need to think about, a very present question, pertinent to us right this moment.  How do we become living stones, or children by adoption?  What makes us like the wheat?  How are we ready for a harvest?  What prepares us for good growth?   What do you need to let go of in the baptism of fire, the energy of the Holy Spirit?

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 world 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

 On Saturday, we were reading chapter 12 of the Book of John.  Jesus was in Jerusalem, at the last Passover Feast of His life, and it was clear the leadership was to put Him to death.  We read:  Then 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 in 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."

 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 world 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.  Today the lectionary skips from chapter 12 of John to the first and third chapters of Luke.  Of this "introduction" or "preface" to the Book of Luke, my study bible says:  "Luke was not a disciple from the beginning, yet he has perfect understanding of the gospel because his sources were the apostles themselves, the eyewitnesses of Christ.  Luke wrote his Gospel to Theophilus, a prominent Gentile who had received Christian instruction (see also Acts 1:1).  St. Ambrose notes that Theophilus can simply 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 . . .   Throughout his Gospel, Luke is careful to give as exact dates as possible for the events he describes.  Here he clarifies who was ruler in each region at the time these events unfolded, so that we have a clear idea when they took place.  Earlier, in chapter 1, He made clear that Herod was ruler of Judea at the time of the births of Jesus and John the Baptist (Luke 1:5).

. . . while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.   My study bible explains that Caiaphas was now the sole high priest, but people also recognized the continuing power of his father-in-law Annas, 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 . . .  My study bible notes:  "The call to repentance was traditional for prophets.  John's baptism did not grant remission of sins once and for all, but prefigured and prepared people for the baptism of Christ which was to come (see Romans 6:3-11).  John is a figure of the Law in that, like the Law, he denounced sin but could not remit (literally, "put away") sin.  Both John and the law point to the One who can remit sin."

. . . 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."  John the Baptist gives himself this role of "the voice" crying in the wilderness, as prophesied by Isaiah (see John 1:23).

"'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.'"  The full quotation is from Isaiah 40:3-5. 

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."  My study bible says, "While parents and ancestors help impart piety and holiness, ancestry itself does not make one worthy of God.  Each person in every generation must bear fruits worthy of repentance.  Stones symbolize the Gentiles who would become children to Abraham through faith in Christ (Romans 4:16-18)."

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."   Clearly the message here is that fruits worthy of repentance are examples of justice and mercy.   Help those in need if you have extra to share.  The teachings are against self-centeredness and selfishness.  Moreover, these are teachings against corruption and exploitation.  Those with power (the soldiers) aren't to intimidate or accuse falsely in order to take bribes.  The tax collectors, also representatives of the Roman state, are to only take the lawful portion allotted to them.  It's a recipe for treating one another with dignity and decency.  Note the "mercy" of the Gospels here:  nobody is turned away.  It doesn't matter the job or the position, however socially despised a tax collector or even a soldier of the occupying army may be.  They are there asking earnestly what they must do to be saved, to bear fruits worthy of repentance.  Nobody is turned down here:  there is a way for everybody to be who they are and still have room for God, for the One to come.  And this is of the greatest importance, because nobody is made to feel entirely culpable here simply for being who they are, or for the job they do in life, their place in society.  Nobody's told they are evil simply by virtue of the job they do.  Instead, each sincere person can find a way; John suggests a way for each, a guideline for what they must do, and how they must conduct themselves.  They don't need to quit doing what they do or being who they are; but they do need to bear fruits worthy of repentance, to practice fairness and honesty to the best of their ability, not to exploit others with less power through corrupt methods.  There is a way of doing justice and of practicing mercy.  Neither are those with "extra" taught they must be someone else, do something else; they aren't guilty because they have wealth.  But they are taught to care for those who are unfortunate, as each is able to do so.  And this is so important; I think it's often lost on people because the message is made too stark, to the point where there is no hope for someone who has wealth, or who does a particular job or holds a particular position in society.  In terms of humility and a life of extreme ascetic poverty, there is no one who sacrifices more security in life than John the Baptist, who practices a kind of "holy poverty" that is among the most ascetic known in order to more fully rely on the love for God and make it the center of his life.  But his advice is wise, and kind.  It is for everybody -- and it bears a message for today's highly politicized world of "does" and "don'ts."  There is a way for everybody.  John saves his wrath, as will Jesus, for those who are hypocrites -- who fail to lead the people in true faith and are not sincere in putting God's love first, those who think their ancestry will save them rather than their own "fruits worthy of repentance."  The buck stops where we are not willing to practice the things John teaches here:  compassion and justice and fairness and honesty.  We can each assess our lives in the light of what he teaches, as we still look to the Light to which he points.  How do we make the Lord's paths straight to our hearts and our lives?  to our world, our community?