Like an old friend, here comes our yearly Advent visit from
John the Baptist.
But unlike a friend who might visit you for some coffee and
Christmas cookies, John’s visit comes with a bit of discomfort. John comes with a call to repentance.
In fact his greeting is rather stark, “You brood of vipers!” Nice
to see you, too, John! But he’s right,
isn’t he? Harsh as it sounds, those
people coming to hear him preach and see about baptism – they were a brood of
vipers, snakes in the grass, slithering around in sinfulness. Born in sin, living in sin, somehow unaware
of just how wicked they really were. We
know they were, because we all are. John
could be speaking to us, just as well.
And in reality, he is.
You and I are a brood of vipers. We’ve always been that way. We are sinners descended from sinners,
conceived and born into sin. And the apple
doesn’t fall far from the tree since our first parents ate of it. Sin is our natural state. Selfish cares, greed, corruption, venomous
words that bite at each other. Poison
even in our thoughts, the corruption running deep into the heart.
John’s call to repentance is uncomfortable because it shines
the spotlight on what we all know but don’t like to face. We are guilty as charged. The wrath of God is coming. And without repentance we are hopeless. The axeman is winding up. The fire is being stoked. God’s judgment is ever at hand.
But John’s message of repentance has two sides. He preached a baptism of repentance for
the forgiveness of sins. Yes,
there’s that biting law. But there’s
also sweet Gospel in John’s words.
He preached a message of preparation for the advent of
another, another preacher, and greater than he.
Prepare the way for him! He comes
with salvation!
John hearkens back to the prophet Isaiah, who spoke
poetically about the coming of the Lord!
Make way! Make ready! Put everything in order. Level the hills. Fill the valleys. Make the path straight and smooth.
We might say, “Put on
your Sunday best. Roll out the red
carpet. Put out the best silverware and
the fancy china. Don’t hold anything
back. Get ready and make ready for the arrival of a most honored guest… a most
important visitor. The Lord himself is
coming, and bringing salvation with him!”
But John has more to teach us:
And do not begin to
say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able
from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
Don’t think that anything you bring to the table will
suffice to make you ready for the Christ.
For the Jews, they tended to rest on their lineage and bloodline, “We
are children of Abraham, after all!” John is not impressed with that, nor is
the Lord. The God who made the universe
from nothing can also raise up children of Abraham from scratch, from nothing,
something as dead as a stone. And that
is what we are, apart from Christ, lifeless and inert, no more spiritual life
than a stone. But our God is in this
very business, of making something from nothing, bringing life out of death.
It just has to be his doing, not yours. And so don’t begin to think, “well, I’ll get
ready for Christ’s coming by re-committing myself to my faith. I’ll resolve to be a better Christian, read
my Bible more often, and make sure I do all the right things.” No, don’t begin to say those things if you
think that it earns you a shred of God’s favor.
God’s favor in Christ comes for free. He’s the one who makes the crooked ways
straight and the uneven paths level.
He’s the one who sends his Son, the greater one than John, the one who
accomplishes our salvation. Without
Christ, we would be a lost brood of vipers and only ever that. But with Christ, we are a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come.
And living your own baptism, with sins forgiven for the sake
of Christ, things do look different.
Yes, we want to be children of God, and children of Abraham, and
followers of Jesus and all that. We want
to be a family of faith and not a brood of vipers. We want to live a godly life and follow his
commands. Not to gain his favor, but
because we have it.
These are the fruits of repentance, or the fruits of
faith. When you confess your sins and
are forgiven, then the new man God has created in you wants to do better. So what should we do?
Again John has something to teach us. “Bear fruits in keeping with
repentance.” He gives several examples.
First, generosity. If
someone has two tunics, share with one who has none. Likewise with food, share your bread with the
hungry. It’s just how Christians
act. We, who have received abundantly,
desire to give generously. We, who have
received the greatest gifts from God, including the gift of his own beloved
Son, we simply want to share with others.
And it’s far more than tunics and bread, but all of life’s gifts follow
this same advice from John.
But he then gets more specific. Sure it’s one thing to speak in grand
platitudes about being nice and kind and generous and loving. But how does that actually look? How does it, specifically, work?
Here John teaches us that the answer often comes down to
your vocation. He uses the example of
the tax collector and the soldier, to show us that our fruits of repentance are
borne out in our various vocations:
For the tax collector it meant not collecting more taxes
than authorized. But notice, he still
intends for them to collect the taxes.
Simply doing their job, doing it honestly and faithfully, was
enough. No great works of heroic
morality or super-Christian valor are required.
Just fulfill your calling, simply and straightforwardly.
The same for the soldier.
He doesn’t forbid the vocation of a soldier. He doesn’t even outlaw violence in the course
of a soldier’s duties. But he forbids
threats and extortion, and commands the soldier to be content with his
wages. So, contentment is a fruit of
repentance! This applies to other
vocations, too.
Wherever God has placed you, whatever your particular
calling or role, in whatever vocation you find yourself – there are
opportunities to serve others. There God
has given you chances to love your neighbor and reflect his love.
Parents: Raise your
children well. Feed and clothe
them. See that they learn respect. Educate them for their own service to the
world, and most importantly bring them to the Lord, raising them in the
Christian faith.
Children: Honor your father and mother. Be respectful to those who care for you. Be obedient and submissive. Learn and grow.
Husbands and wives:
Love and respect each other.
Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up
for her. Wives, submit to your husbands
as to the Lord. Be kind and patient and
keep no record of wrongs.
Citizens: Pay your
taxes. Vote your conscience. Honor the government and respect those in
authority.
Pastors: Preach the
word faithfully and administer the sacraments rightly.
Parishioners: Hear
the word faithfully and joyfully and receive the sacrament regularly. Support your church and your fellow
Christian, and pray fervently.
Whatever your calling, bear fruits in keeping with
repentance, that is to say, simply do what God has given you to do, in love and
service to your neighbor.
Because the God who spoke by Isaiah and all the prophets,
and who sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for his Son, our Savior,
continues to call us to repentance, never stops forgiving our sins, and always
blesses us with opportunities to bear fruit.