Zephaniah 3:14-20 Canticle 9 Philippians 4:4-7 Luke 3:7-18
“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance.” This is how John the Baptist addressed the crowd that had come to be baptized by him. As preachers go, John the Baptist would definitely be considered evangelical.
At the end of this passage he says of Christ who is to come, “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." He calls the people a “brood of vipers,” then says that Christ will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire. Not exactly the message that fits with the final verse for today, “So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.” The good news appears to be that the unworthy will be separated the good and the evil will burn in an unquenchable fire! That might be good, if he hadn’t started by calling the people a “brood of vipers,” thus placing them among the chaff. On the threshing floor the wheat was separated from the dried husk by pounding the plants on the hard floor, then using a winnowing fork to separate the seed from the waste – the waste that would then be burned.
The image of dividing the good from the bad is used over and over again in the Bible and in preaching. It is one that is often used to generate real fear of God – not the “fear” of the Lord talked about in biblical terms that might be translated as “respect.” Some preachers use fear as a motivator for turning people to Jesus and having them accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. This fear generates a great deal of evangelism, because when you think about their motivation for trying to convert others to Christ, it is equal to attempting to save a person from drowning. To die without first accepting Christ, for them, is to spend eternity burning in the unquenchable fire.
This is not, however, how I interpret this passage. There is another way of reading it in which the final verse is this passage, where John proclaims the good news, makes perfect sense. It is not unlike our reading from Jeremiah last week where God has deemed us worthy of the work required to separate us from the impurities in our lives. In this passage, people are not wheat or chaff, but the plant. Christ comes not to collect the good people and burn the evil ones in an unquenchable fire. No, the good news is that Christ is coming to redeem us by separating us from all the distraction in our lives (the chaff), that separate us from the love of God (the wheat).
John the Baptism does get our attention by calling us a brood of vipers, as he does the people gathered that day. They asked him, “What then should we do?” This is the same question we need to ask ourselves. When I first started attending the Episcopal Church, this was the question I would ask myself in the quiet times in the service – before the service began and during the time I spend waiting to receive communion. I believed then, as I do now, that Christ is here to transform us. Christ came to help us change our focus away from ourselves and toward the greater good. I also understand that I can not do this by myself. I need God’s help to change; I need God’s help to separate the wheat from the chaff in my life.
Among the people gathered before John the Baptist are tax collectors and soldiers – people notorious in that day for their corruption. After he answers the crowd telling them to share what they have with people who have nothing, the tax collectors and soldiers each ask, “And what about me? What do I need to do?” How often do we feel like the tax collectors and soldiers? Our sins are not like those of others – our sins are even greater, so we will need to do more in order to be forgiven. I suspect the tax collectors and soldiers thought they would be told to find new jobs – after all, as a rule the people in their profession extorted others. But John did not say to them, quit your jobs, sell all that you have and give it to the poor. John’s message was not one of earning forgiveness. John simply told them to be satisfied with their wages and take only what they were due.
John’s message to them was one that we all need to hear – “be satisfied with what you have.” It is very easy to look at others and envy what they have that we don’t. It is easy to lose sight of what we have that is most valuable – our relationship with God and with each other. John tells them to be satisfied with what is theirs – to be thankful.
Once we are thankful, we can do what John told the crowds to do – give coats to those who have none and food also. Several years ago, I attended the memorial service for Willard Walker, a philanthropist who made his fortune as one of Sam Walton’s first store managers. As I understand the story, Willard started out working two jobs. In the beginning, Sam didn’t always have the money to pay Willard, so he paid him with stock and Willard lived off his earnings from his second job. By the time of his death Willard was worth millions, yet he lived in the same home he had lived in for decades in a modest neighborhood next door to the Presbyterian minister. Willard and his wife Pat gave away millions of dollars and set up a foundation which continues to contribute to non-profits. At the memorial service, a friend of Willard spoke and had this to say about him, “I’ve been asked how a man so tight with a dollar could give away millions. I’ll tell you, Willard Walker was a man that knew the value of a dollar – but he valued people more.”
What a powerful statement – “He knew the value of a dollar, but he valued people more.” I knew this to be a true statement. Willard gave away far more than he spent on himself. He loved people and he and his wife gave away clothes, food, medical complexes, sports facilities and church building. I remember leaving that service thinking, I want to live my life such that someone could say that about me. I want to see beyond my own desires and wants and share the gifts I have received with others.
There is one thing I know for certain, no one will be able to ask how I could give away millions. But I do continue to pray, asking, “What should I do?” And when I do, the answer is clear – share what I have with others. In our stewardship drive you were asked to make a commitment to give in support St. Andrew’s and our ministries – and you did with great generosity. I am very pleased and proud of your response. Still, the question remains, “What do we need to do – next?” We should never stop asking ourselves this question. It is a call to action; it is a question that calls us to expand our ministries day by day until the
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, as we prepare to receive Christ, help us to respond to John’s message to us and seek continuously to serve you in new ways. Let us not forget that you have called us together to be Christ’s body the church. You have called us into mission; open our eyes that we might see the needs and our hearts that we might respond with thanking for the blessings we have received and our minds that we might understand how to expand the ministry of St. Andrew’s. All this we ask in the name of your son, our savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
