What Then Should We Do?

The New Revised Standard Version The Proclamation of John the Baptist

7 John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 9 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

10 And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” 11 In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

15 As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, 16 John answered all of them by saying, “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. 17 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.”

18 So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.

It’s about HOW we do what we do. With joy.

Soldiers, don’t take advantage of your power

Tax Collectors, don’t skim off the top or demand more than you are due

To wait and anticipate and celebrate during Advent is to be a part of a resistance movement. There are plenty of cheaper ways to occupy joy this season. We can be like the tax collectors and pad our wallets, taking care of ourselves first. We can be like the roman soldiers, using power to extort and threaten those who are weak.

We know that John’s message is radical. John doesn’t mince words. Let’s talk a bit about some of his strong statements in our passage.

First, at least when I was trained in seminary, we were not instructed to call people who are seeking baptism vipers! Not the most approachable way to deal with people. But John isn’t here to mess around. John has found the good news and will let nothing stand in his way of sharing it.

To this “brood of vipers”, John is saying — don’t think just because of your lineage, whose family you’re born into, that this simply makes you right with God. You can be of good stock and still spread havoc upon the world.

The word used for brood here is certainly meant to describe this collection of people. But also, a brood implies the offspring, the children, the fruit of the vipers. So John is not directly calling these people vipers themselves, but the offspring and lineage of the serpents. Now, don’t go talking about my parents that way, thank you very much! But if we can cut through John’s general uncouthness, we see that he may be pointing out that these people cannot rely on their heritage or position to get them access. Rather, he says, “Bear fruits worthy of repentance.” In other words, live responding to how your life is changing. Live in such a way that your brood bears fruit of God’s mercy and freedom, not selfish ambition or vain conceit.

This is one of those hard parts of parenting. I want my son, my brood, to live a life of fruitful service of others and care for the world. So it is my work to train him, to instruct and nurture him in such a way that the fruit he bears when he enters the world is worthy, good, and merciful.

John then uses the image of the ax and the root of the trees. In keeping with the ancestral application, we can see once again that we’re wrestling with whether or not the fruits of our family tree bear righteousness in the world. And let’s not only think of genetic family, but our larger kinship with one another. Think about this community, our church. We use the language of family a lot in the church. And with it, we consider our shared roots, our shared family tree. The people coming to John are appealing to their belonging with Abraham. They think that because they are children of Abraham, they are set, good to go, no need to be of concern or live differently.

I know we sometimes find language of “being thrown into the fire” hard to palate. Here, it is important to remember where we were last week with John — he’s calling people to repentance and change.

In the context of repentance, are there roots or branches on the tree of your life that would be best to lop off and let go of? Is it possible we have dead or sick roots, certain parts in us that would be better to treat or simply remove in order that our whole self, the whole tree of us, might be healthier?

Let’s return this to our shared context, our shared family tree. Do we have ways of being in our life together that are withering us? Do we have attitudes that produce twisted or rotten fruit? Yes! We do. If you deny it, look inward — what fruit does your denial produce?

With this context, I say good riddance to the withered branches in me — please, help me to winnow them away so that I can be one who bears good fruit.

This Advent season, perhaps there is a time that you need to set aside to consider this kind of pruning work.

It is typical in our household that as we bring out decorations and adorn our home for the Advent and Christmas seasons, that we will get rid of some old decorations. Christmas lights that don’t work any longer. Ornaments that broke in the packing process. That ugly old sweater that thankfully doesn’t fit any longer.

What we’re looking at here is not about waste or frivolous chucking the old to replace with the new. No. Rather, what we are witnessing here is the possibility that healing and wholeness can be found by examining the health of our tree’s roots and branches and doing the careful work to let go of what threatens the good fruit from blossoming.

So, then, the crowd asks the question that I know burns in our hearts too: “What then should we do?”

If you have two coats, share with someone who has none. It’s not that complicated. We bear fruit by sharing in our abundance!

Tax collectors — collect what is required and no more. Don’t steal extra from people. Abide by the laws, collect what you must, and be content.

Soldiers — you have power. Don’t lord it over people or threaten them. Use your power to keep others safe, to liberate captives, to ensure peace and security for your people.

Let’s briefly consider these two groups — tax collectors and soldiers.

Both are in positions of governmental power. One is collecting money to fund the government, the other is commissioned to protect the government.

In theory, these should be honorable, respected roles. These people are to bear the fruit of righteousness by providing stability and protection for their community.

But isn’t it so easy to let the power of position twist our hearts. And that’s what we perceive John naming here — the trust that is given to these positions of power must not be abused. Power itself is not the enemy here. Instead, it is the abuse and twisting of power to harm the weak that John points out, these are the brood, these are the fruits of their ways.

Again, the question rings out: What then should we do?

And here, after we’ve let go of our power, let go of our birthright and privilege, when we’ve found the freedom of repentance, we ask again, what then should we do?

Here, we find joy.

Vs. 15 says, the people were filled with expectation and all were question in their hearts concerning John, whether he was the Messiah.

The people who have been waiting in hope, the people who have begun to embrace repentance, these people now look with eyes wide in expectation that the one who cries out from the wilderness would be the one to set them free and make their joy complete!

John redirects this energy, pointing to the one who is to come.

Again, here we find language of the winnowing fork and the unquenchable fire, along with gathering the wheat into the stores.

In a sense, John says to the crowds — hey, look, I know you think I might be the one who will bring the good news, but you…just…wait. Prophets speak the truth and John is no exception. And the truth that John speaks is what fulfills the longings of the people’s hearts.

Where power and privilege have been the modes of securing position and stability — the one who is coming has power beyond measure. The one who is to come is to be respected, lauded, bringing a baptism of God’s Holy Spirit to truly change lives.

Can you sense the crackle in the air? Can we feel the anticipation that comes with such a promised one? Do we have an inkling that all our waiting, all our longing, might actually come to bear fruit in reality as the Messiah comes to be among us?

This is what Joy looks like at Advent. Joy that hope is becoming reality. Joy that the wait may soon be over.

Here is where the child’s longing for Christmas helps us so immensely to tune into the season. Certainly, their joy and longing is tied to the hope of presents and sweets and carols and excitement. But aren’t all of these longings of the heart merely secondary emotions that speak of a deeper longing, a deeper expectation? Aren’t they the glimmers of what the soul seeks, the wholeness found in the Christ child?

I’ll close with this — how we anticipate and experience the season, how we seek out and lean into the longing, this all is a matter of how our hearts are tuned into joy. For the follower of Jesus, the celebrations of this season should be rich with hope and cheer. I said moments ago that to celebrate and honor the season of Advent is to partake in a movement of resistance.

The soldiers, tax collectors, media pundits, marketers — they want the take the good of their power and amp it up to highjack our joy and make a buck off of it.

But when we have joy that rests in the anticipation of God with us, Emmanuel, our hearts are filled with an anticipation that cannot be distracted, cannot be overpowered. Our joy this season is to await the Christ, our savior. The way we live into this season, with joy and hope and love and peace and longing and gratitude and hearty celebration — this is resistance to being overtaken by worry about whether there will be enough, fear about whether our power might be taken from us, sadness wrapped up in not getting it all.

As followers of Jesus, we replace such things with lives of repentance and restoration. We live into the joy of Christ’s arrival, anticipating that all will be made right as we receive his power. All will be made right as he burns the tired and rotten branches in us. All will be made right as his justice rolls down upon us. All will be made right as the lowly are lifted up and the powerful brought low. All will be made right, and it is in this we find our joy!

What then should we do? Rejoice, for we have discovered joy in Christ our lord!

Amen.