Luke 3 7-18
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“Brood of vipers, children of Abraham and the sons and daughters of god”
Advent 3 - c
Luke 3:7-18
Introduction: A few years ago Alex Haley wrote a book called Roots. It is the story of a black man retracing and rediscovering his family history. What he finds is not only the history of his family, it is his own history - His story. Once his family had royal roots, than it was ripped away from its royalty and homeland of Africa. His family was brought to America in slavery, and there it suffered to regain it’s freedom and dignity. What that man found was at times difficult to deal with. These were hard memories to reflect upon. By his reflection and remembering what had happened to his family he was able to remember where he had come from. He was able to understand the pain and suffering, the trials and triumphs that that had been born by other people, that enabled him to be the person he was.
This third Sunday in Advent we continue our preparation for celebrating Jesus birth and His coming again. One of the ways that we can prepare is by remembering. We must remember our own roots, where we came from and who we were. We must remember why Jesus came. And we must remember who we are because of Him and what He has done.
I. Remembering who we were - Brood of vipers
A. Brood of Vipers. First we must remember who we were. The words of John the Baptist recorded in our Gospel lesson for today could not be more direct. They reflect the spiritual condition of the crowds coming to John to be baptized. The also reflect our own spiritual condition be for our own conversions. You are a brood of vipers, John says. He calls the people snakes. Can you imagine a pastor looking at a new born baby, presented by it’s loving parents, and then calling it a snake. Somehow, I don’t think that would go over well. Anyway, John the Baptist uses some of the most pulverizing and stinging words in all the Gospels. After telling the people that they are snakes he goes on to say that God’s axe is laid at the root of the unfruitful tree, them. God is about ready to cut them down. These are harsh words of judgment. They are true of the crowds and they are true about who we once were.
B. You see before God called us we followed the father of lies, the serpent of the Garden of Eden, Satan. In our own sin we were his spiritual children. Like snakes we were given over to the characteristics of repulsiveness, destruction and deceit. Even now as the redeemed children of God we still fight against these sinful characteristics that cling to us according to our sinful natures. These are our roots, this is who we once were.
C. John the Baptist goes on to warn the crowds coming to him about the false sense of security that they had about their salvation. He warns them that just because their physical roots are in Abraham this will not benefit them. Their false security relies on genetics and not on the spiritual gift of God which is faith. What they trust in has nothing to do with God. To this John the Baptist says that God can change stones into faithful children of Abraham.
As Christians we too are often tempted to be smug, to have a false sense of security. We may be tempted to believe that we have merited God’s favor by something we have done or who we are. We may even point to our own history or heritage as Methodists, Catholics, Baptists or Lutherans - you know the ones that do things right. Our salvation is not based on memberships, although it may be hindered by them. Unfortunately we forget that the real children of Abraham are children of faith. Unfortunately are trust is not always in a salvation that is by God’s grace alone through the gift of faith in Christ alone. These are our roots, this is who we once were and are still tempted to be today.
II. Remembering why He came
In remembering who we were we remember why God sent His Son into the world. Considering who we were, sinners, enemies of God, vipers as it were, we might expect God to send His son to kill and destroy. After all most of us would agree that this is a reasonable end to an enemies life or a snakes life.
A. But God did not send His Son Jesus to kill and destroy. Because of God‘s incomprehensible love for His creation He sent His Son to give new life and to save what was lost. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved”. It was for sinners, enemies of God, a brood of vipers, that Christ came. And through Christ He has given them new life in and with His own life.
B. Jesus came to give new life. What is this new life that has been given to all who believe in Jesus? It is a life that originates in baptism. In Baptism we shed our lives as sinners and as a brood of vipers, like a snake sheds it’s skin. We emerged from baptism, as a new and beautiful creation, in Christ. In baptism we are connected to our savior who became flesh and lived in our world. In baptism we become as He was, righteous and perfect before God. We are baptized into Christ’s death where are old serpent like nature was crucified and we were baptized into His resurrection -- our hope of eternal life.
C. What about our sin though? Must a penalty be paid?. What about our enmity towards God. Is God only to forget and look away. Can a righteous judge turn a blind eye to evil? How would you feel about such a judge? No, God must execute His judgment. John the Baptist said that the axe was already laid at the root of the tree. Indeed it was to be. At the tree of the cross the axe of God’s judgment was laid hard into Christ's body, piercing Him for our sake. At the cross Isaiah’s righteous branch stemming from the stump of Jesse was cut down as the unfruitful tree. On the cross Christ became sin for us, like the serpent that was lifted up by Moses, to save the people. The penalty was paid. God’s judgment has been made at the cross.
III. Remembering Who We Are Now
In remembering why Christ came and what He has done we know who we are now.
A. We are a changed people as the baptized and forgiven children of God. We have been created in Christ Jesus. The apostle Peter says that “you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. You are the new Israel and the true children of Abraham by your faith in Christ.
B. Who are we now? As God’s baptized children we are now free to live as the righteous branch and the fruitful tree to bear good fruit for Christ’s sake and in His name. Because of what God has done in our lives we bear the fruit of true repentance, for we are sincerely sorry for our sin. We bear the fruit of love as we us love one another. We bear the fruit of contentment in all that God has given us, trusting Him to take care of us. And especially we bear the fruit that leads to eternal life in that we confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
C. Because of Christ, we now are the advent people of God. In our Gospel lesson, after the crowds had listened to John the Baptist, they thought and hoped that He was the Christ. In a way they were Advent people in that they were living in anticipation. But they didn’t have it quite right. They were like a man, I’ll call Greg. This is his story. Greg lived in New York. It was Christmas time. For Christmas Greg had only one wish. He hoped that that he would be invited to his grandparents house, in California. That is all he wanted - an invitation. A couple weeks before Christmas a letter came in the mail from His Grandparents. Greg was elated. This was it he hoped. Now all he had to do was find the money to pay for his travel. Greg slowly opened the envelope. It did not contain the invitation that he had hoped for though . Rather, his grandparents had sent him a ticket. Greg had hoped for only an invitation. He was given so much more. The Jews thought that John the Baptist was the Christ. God gave them and us so much more by sending us His Son. In Him God did not merely invite us to Heaven, He gave us our ticket. Now we are truly God’s Advent people, as we live in the anticipate of Christ’s coming, and as we prepare to celebrate His birth.
Conclusion: As we prepare for this Christmas season it is important for us to remember our own roots. In them we discover our own history - our own story. Like the people in Alex Haley's’ book, we are a people that once had a royal heritage. Because of sin we were ripped away from our homeland - the Garden of Eden. We became the slaves of sin and death. That’s where our story would have ended. But God sent His Son to us. Now we are able to understand the pain and suffering, the trials and triumphs that were born by our Savior that have enabled us to be the people we are. In Christ we have His roots, the roots of life, freedom and royalty as God’s beloved children.
