What Then Should We Do? (Dec. 12, 2021)

Imagine with me a movie. It is the opening credits and the camera is panning in the opening scene. It looks to be a desert of some sort: dry, craggy and scrub bush all around. But wait: there appears to be some water and growth around it. It is a river that moves a bit sluggishly and is brown in color from the banks caving in occasionally. The river is about the size of the Ararat River up in Mount Airy, not that big for what we call a river but big enough to water the area around it.

The camera then zooms in to the banks of the river. There seems to be a crowd gathered there. A rather large crowd. A crowd of a diverse nature, one made up of men and women from all classes.

Then the camera zooms in again. This time it is on a man. This man is saying something, but let us examine him first before we get to his message. He appears to be a Nazarite, one who has been separated from those around him in the service of God. He is wearing clothes made of camel’s hair with a leather belt wrapped around him. We are told that he ate wild honey and locusts for his food, so there are probably bee stings on his lean and tanned body. His hair, not cut by the standards of the Nazarite, is wild and in all directions and his beard is the same with flecks of food probably in it. All in all, quite a sight.

But it is the eyes that catch the attention. They are not the wild eyes of someone who is a bit “touched” as we would say. No, these eyes are focused and alight with a passion and a message. And what a message. Here is the opening: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance.[1]”

Now, I don’t know about you, but that kind of intro to a sermon would have my attention. It would also have me wondering what would be coming next. And I am sure that those listening would have wondered what was next as well. Surely, he was not talking to them. After all, they were Jews, the children of Abraham, the chosen ones.

To this the man, his name is John, gives another blistering remark. To paraphrase he says: “Don’t even think of saying “Well, we have Abraham for our ancestor”. Big deal. If you don’t think that God could not create children of Abraham from these stones that are sitting around here, you clearly are misinformed.” They are not to trust in their ancestry, for God does not care about that. God does not care about where one comes from, where one has gone to church or how long one has been a Presbyterian. What God wants is for people to repent. Not feel bad about their sins and ask for forgiveness to go and try to not do them again. No, repent means to change your life. It means that you are headed down the road and you do a complete 180, change direction, and never look back. That is what God is wanting and that is what John is preaching.

But John is also telling them of the judgement to come. He is telling them that the axe is ready to strike. It is at the root of the tree lining up for the best place to lay the first blow. And the fire that will come from it, well, it will make a very nice bonfire. Therefore, one must bear good fruits to not be like the tree that is ready to be cut down and burned. One must show fruits of repentance.

So, the people ask, “What then should we do?” If being a descendent of Abraham does not count for anything in the coming judgement, then what can be done to avert this? What kinds of things will show the fruits of repentance?

John begins by speaking to the people in general. He says “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.[2]” The coat mentioned here was more of a tunic, a shirt that was worn close to the body that was then covered by an outer cloak. It was often used to keep out the cold and was an essential part of the clothing that one had. For anyone to have two was to be well off indeed. And John is telling them that for them to have two is to have one too many. That to have more than what is needed is to have too much. He is not saying that they should go and give away all that they have, but they are to share out of their abundance.

And the same with food. If one has more food than one can eat at a time, then one is to share with those who have none. We recently contributed Thanksgiving bags to Pilot Outreach for those who were without food at Thanksgiving. And though we gave that food to others, how many of us were eating leftovers for a few days after the “big meal”? How many of us wondered just what to do with all the food that we had? Again, John is not saying that we should go hungry in giving food to all those who are in need, but that if we have more than we can possibly use at a time is to be given to those who are in need of daily bread.

Then come the tax collectors. A better term for these folks would be toll collectors. They were the ones who collected tolls, tariffs and customs fees from the people at toll houses or toll booths. Because they paid upfront for the right to collect these tolls, anything that was made over the amount of the toll was pure profit. It was a system that was rife with abuse of the people as the collectors took far more than what was required. As can be expected, these people were very unpopular and were considered unclean and traitors because of their association with the Romans. These would have been the ones of whom Amos spoke when he said that there were those who ground the poor’s faces in the dirt.

To these, when they ask, John tells them to not take more than is allowed, to not take more than the allotted sum. In other words, take only what is supposed to be taken. Here he is not telling them to stop doing this job (after all the tolls need to be taken), but to make an honest living, to not exploit those who were poor enough as it was and make them poorer.

Finally, there come soldiers. These would not have been Roman soldiers but rather local mercenaries serving the Herods that ruled the area or the Roman procurator. They would have often protected the toll collectors and in addition to the sums that came to the toll collectors they would “collect” their own “tolls”. As they were armed and most likely physically fit, they would extort from the people whatever they wanted. They could literally ‘shake down’ the people. They were hated by the people as much as the toll collectors and with good reason.

To these John says that they are to not extort the people with threats and false accusations but they are to be content with their wages. Like the toll collectors, John is not telling them to stop being a soldier. Rather they are to be honest and not put more burdens on the people than what they already have.

As can be expected, John is asked if he is the Messiah, the one for whom the people have been looking. John tells them in no uncertain terms that he is not the one. The one for whom they are looking is still to come and he is not worthy to be his slave. But the coming one will baptize those gathered not with water, but with the Spirit and fire. Fire is used not only to burn up things, like the chaff that is to be thrown away and burned, but it also is used to purify things. It burns off the impurities and leaves the good things behind much like the winnowing fork separates the grain from the chaff of the wheat.

But John gives hope. It is said that while he exhorted the people, telling them what to do to repent and to have a life showing the good fruits, he is telling them the good news. The good news of the Messiah, the one who has come and is coming. The one who will bring the purified and the good grain into the barn and the kingdom of God.

Author Flannery O’Connor once said that “you will know the truth and the truth will make you odd.” One can only think that this would have applied well to John. John was what we would call an odd duck, one who stuck out among people. His message was odd as well. Instead of telling the people what they wanted to hear, he told them what they neededto hear. That it was not their bloodline that mattered but what they did and the fruits that they bore that mattered. That their fruits were what showed their true repentance and the life that they would live with God.

John’s message is still odd today. Today we lit the candle of Joy. What kind of joy comes from calling people snakes, telling them that there is an axe at the tree and a fire that will consume it? What joy do we find in a message that tells us to repent? Isn’t repentance supposed to make us feel bad? Yes and no. It is supposed to make us realize that we need to turn around and get our lives aligned with God. It is supposed to make us realize that we can bear fruits that are worthy of our calling.

But the truth can make us odd as well. What will it take for us to let go of our possessions that we like to hold onto, to give some of our things that we have more than we need to the needy? If we are in business, we are to be honest in our dealings with other people and make sure that we take only what is necessary. And those in power over others, we are to not exert that power in a way that oppresses others. In other words, we are to act differently from the world around us. And in doing so, we become odd. We stand out and people will notice.

Here is the part where we find the joy in this message of John. Here is where we find the good news. It is only with the help of God that we can do these odd things. With God showing us the way, we are able to bear the fruits of repentance. And if we know that it is God for whom we work, why would be want to do anything else? Let us go and be odd for the good news. Amen.

[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print. [2] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print.