Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, NY
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In the name of the Lover, the Beloved and Love ever flowing. Amen.
John the Baptist is proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He has three messages for the crowds. First, the final judgement is at hand and sanctions will be meted out. Second, you need to turn to God by leading ethical lives. And third, one who is more powerful than I is coming.
John the Baptist was a powerful preacher. He attracted crowds even amid the wilderness. Those crowds were varied. He attracted peasants and merchants, as well as religious elites.
Incredibly, even Roman soldiers came to hear what this wild preacher had to say. His reputation moved crowds to him even though his message could fall harshly on unprepared ears.
In today’s gospel, John emphatically urges the crowd to repent. His exhortation is to turn away from evil ways and turn to God while there is still time. Exhortation is rarely a subtle rhetorical style. And John also isn’t shy to use hyperbole and irony.
For instance, he calls his audience a “brood of vipers.” This amounts to shaming both his listeners and their forebears. He destabilizes their honor status. He even denies them the status they would accrue from being descendants of Abraham. He says God is able to raise up children to Abraham from the surrounding wilderness stones.
No one should feel immune to the need for repentance, no matter their status. It’s as if we would retort: “we are good church-going Episcopalians, what is this talk about repentance?”
To insist on repentance, John makes statements both about the ultimate things and about how to live in the meantime. This dynamic between eschatology and ethics keeps his listeners on their toes. The status quo is threatened by John’s preaching. The judgement is at hand he says and you folks better shape up.
The Baptist uses vivid images to summon the coming judgement. The axe is lying at the bottom of the tree. Will the tree bear the good fruit of repentance or manifest the sterility of corrupt ways?
Failure to repent will lead to being reduced to ashes in the fire.
John knows fear is a powerful motivator. The fear of punishment for not repenting is making the crowds ask what they should do. And here, rather than focusing on religious practices or beliefs, John turns the crowds to the very stuff of their daily life. This must have seemed odd, if not scandalous to those Pharisees who came to listen to him. The Pharisees insisted on specious adherence to the precepts of the law and religious practice.
John tells us that we should use whatever wealth, privilege or power we have not to our sole benefit but also to the benefit of others.
He tells those who are rich to dispose of their superfluous wealth to the benefit of the poor. He tells professionals not to exploit their position to extort what is not theirs to have. He tells those with a political position not to abuse those whose interests you are supposed to protect.
The crowd is mesmerized by John’s preaching and many come forward for a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of their sins. In the spirit of the Jewish people’s messianic hopes, the people ask John if he might be the Messiah they are expecting.
And John prophetically evokes the coming of Jesus. "I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
In all humility, John knows he is only preparing the way for the anointed One. Does he even know at that moment exactly who that is? Or is it only revealed to him at Jesus’ baptism? John’s vision of the Messiah contains elements of judgement. The chaff will be burned in an unquenchable fire. More fear is sowed into the crowd.
But it is worthwhile to remember that the post-resurrection Jesus, the Christ will assuage that fear. Most of his post Easter encounters start with him saying “Do not be afraid.” The baptism of fire and the Holy Spirit is fiery indeed, but it is a fire of cleansing and purification not of punishment.
Of course, Jesus in his ministry also made predictions of the judgement to come. But is this judgement really between the good guys and the bad guys?
Or is it rather a deep discernment aided by God in what is good and what is short of good, or even evil in our life? Is it a look back on all our life and a scalpel-sharp distinction of what was good and what was not? And is it not our not-so-good parts that will be thrown in the unquenchable fire?
Will the good parts of us be redeemed from the judgement and enjoy the limitless mercifulness of a loving God?
Psalm 136 begins with word on God’s unrelenting mercy:
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
Maybe it was early days for John the Baptist to divine in the coming Messiah an unrelenting love and mercy. That’s what he was preparing the way for without knowing exactly where it led.
But let’s not forget the ethical lesson of the Baptist.
We are like rich people - who never have enough for ourselves and ours. We are as the tax collectors – dependent upon unjust structures for our livelihood. We are as the occupying army – caught in a culture of exploitation and violence.
“What should we do?”
Share, keep no more than you need.
Be fair, treat others with care, and be honest.
Bear fruit.
Make unselfish choices.
Live within your means.
Do what is just.
Turn around and return to God.
Bear the fruit worthy of repentance.
Make is so that anyone observing our lives, can discern that we bear the mark of Christ and are living as his faithful disciples.
Come, Lord Jesus and be our Advocate in the judgement to come.
Amen.
