Luke 3:7-18, Advent 3
Introduction
Well then…after this lovely, Christmasy scripture reading on this third Sunday in the season of Advent—that is preparing us for the coming of the little baby Jesus, born in a barn, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in the manger—what can a preacher say but, “Merry Christmas…you brood of vipers! And Happy New Year… for the wrath that is to come!”
I wanted to put this message into one of those “make your own” Shutterfly kind of Christmas cards to send out, but can you believe Julie vetoed that idea. She said it wasn’t a Christmasy kind of message. To which I said, “Umm…it’s in the Bible! John is talking about Jesus. It is exactly a Christmas kind of message!” (Just like Die Hard is a Christmas movie.) And with that rock solid argument made…our Christmas card will say, “Merriest Blessings.” (Boring.)
Personally, I love John the Baptist, especially at Christmas. And actually, many preachers love John the Baptist especially at Christmas too because we get to slyly call our congregations a “brood of vipers.” Not all of you of course. (Just some. And you know who you are.)
But no, John the Baptist is not very Christmasy—a point I’ve made about him every time this text and statement comes up in the Advent lectionary. But when I saw he was coming around again in the cycle this year, I’ll admit I got a little excited because I love irony—and this is an ironic text for the Advent and Christmas season—at least on the surface. Not a lot of “peace on earth, good will to all” from John here in the “most wonderful time of the year.” But there is a call for action, for preparation, to get ready for what it to come in Jesus. And that is a faithful Advent message.
But what stands out in this text this year is not so much John’s indictment to the people being a brood of vipers in need of changing their ways before the wrath that is to come—a wrath that is not intended for the faithful, but rather for a world that has strayed from the ways of God—but rather what stands out is the question asked: “What should we do?” What should we do to prepare for the coming of Jesus? What should we do to be faithful to God and God’s ways? What should we do for a world that has strayed from God and God’s ways? What should we do when…we don’t know what to do?
“What should we do” is our question about… well, everything, right? And John tells us today what to do, just as he told the people who first asked him “What should we do?”
Move 1
John’s message is not simply a call to belief or trust. John challenges his hearers to right relationships—and not just with God, but with their neighbors as well. (And who will we later learn is our neighbor?)
Following his bombastic call for repentance and many other exhortations, the various groups of hearers respond to John’s preaching— first the “crowd” as a whole, then the tax collectors, and finally the soldiers—each asking, “What should we do?”
John responds to each reiteration of this question by offering specific action that equates to “fruits worthy of repentance.” To the crowds as a whole, John says: If you have more than you need, whether in terms of food or clothing, you must share. To the tax collectors, who were often guilty of adding more than a little extra taxation on the top of regional and Roman taxes, John says: Stop stealing from your neighbors. And to the soldiers John says: No more using your power to take advantage of those you hold power over—no intimidating, no extortion, no abuse of your power.
John’s action-oriented exhortations regarding fruits of repentance are focused on stopping the depriving of our neighbor of what they need and instead treat them with dignity.
The repentance John is calling for is not about the dialectic of faith and sin; rather it is about how we are living out the mandate to love one another. John’s advent presence and preparations encourage us to ask this same question of ourselves: “What should we do?” How can we respond to the Advent of the Messiah, the one who comes to speak truth to power, the one who comes to set the captives free, the one who comes to show us the way, the truth, and the life? What are the fruits of repentance we might bear? How can we meet the promise of the season, with real, meaningful expectation and impact?
These are the questions Advent implores us to ask ourselves—starting with “What should we do?” Because if we don’t ask such questions, and if we don’t seek out our answers (because each response to get to the answer differs) then we are missing the mark when it comes to living out the mandate to love our neighbor—which in turn can make us a brood of vipers.
Move 2
Christmas, to be sure, is meant to comfort us with Good News of God’s love for all humanity. But there’s also a secondary message, equally important to the Gospel-writers. And that message is meant to confront us with all the ways our world still doesn’t measure up to God’s standards of justice, and how we, by our actions, can make a difference.
Now, those may not be the “tidings of comfort and joy” many are expecting from a sermon in the weeks before Christmas. But we preachers really have no choice about delivering such a message. We have no choice because that’s what the Advent Scriptures clearly say—especially when it comes to preaching John the Baptist.
So how does John the Baptist to respond? Or, in other words, how do we answer the question posed by those people in the Bible who asked him, “What should we do?” The answers are the same as the ones he shared with each group who asked him—Do some birth honoring, Messiah coming giving. Take some Christmas action that will guide you and others to the joy of Christmas.
No, this text on the surface isn’t very Christmasy. No, “you brood of vipers” doesn’t make for a joy-filled Christmas card, but…
Do you think the people who didn’t have a coat who were given one by those who had two were filled with joy? That joy was made possible by doing what John told them to do.
Do you think the people who were having their taxes collected when told they had to pay “no more” than what was required were filled with joy? That joy was made possible by doing what John told them to do.
Do you think the people who were once extorted, threatened, and falsely accused by Roman soldiers but then weren’t by those who abused their power, were filled with joy? That joy was made possible by doing what John told them to do.
John’s answer to the questions “What should we do?” (in preparation for the one who comes in the name of the Lord) is always some version of: “Do what is good, right, just, and faithful.” Do that, and you create joy.
Move 3
At Christmas we love to give. When we give, and when we receive, there is joy.
But when we don’t limit our giving to “the usual suspects,”— the ones who gather around our Christmas tree each year, and who give us gifts in return— when we do what bears fruits worthy of repentance, we expand the possibilities of joy.
But we don’t have to do this with store bought gifts. We make can make joy possible with something far more valuable and impactful.
John was calling for the people to do what was good, right, just and faithful. And when the people did what was good, right, just, and faithful, it created a level of joy that can never come from a store.
That is John’s Advent preparations call. That is what he tells us we should do. Do what is good, right, just, and faithful—and that will create joy.
And when we create joy in such a way for others, we can be certain we are following the example of Jesus himself. For Jesus ultimately came into this world to give. He came to give himself so that we may have life, and have it abundantly.
It was no easy gift he gave. It demanded all he had, and all he was—and it took him to the cross. But look at the result: a world set free from the power of sin and death.
And though that’s not put into a Christmas card either, maybe it ought to be because it is a message of joy that begins at Christmas.
Conclusion
It probably seems ironic for us to have to lean into this text and it’s message on the Sunday of Advent when we are embracing and celebrating the Joy that comes at Christmas, because there isn’t much joy to be found in this text that speaks of a coming wrath that will cut down those who don’t bear good fruit, and that a baptism of fire is on its way.
But it’s fitting because we continue to make our way through a time when it’s hard to see and find any joy. The Covid-19 pandemic continues, and now a new variant is spreading. There was another school shooting a couple of weeks ago. Perceived threats to the high school right here in our community.
Joy, as I often say, is illusive—and maybe more so than ever these days. But when we go deeper into this text, we find not a joyful message, but a message that shows us how to get to the joy we seek.
And we start to discover how to get to the joy we seek by asking the question, “What should we do?” What actions should we take? What impact might we have with those actions?
So let us ask the question, “What should we do?” Let us consider how we can share gifts that are good, right, just, and faithful. For when we do then we won’t need a Christmas card with messages of joy because our doing, our actions, our lives will simply be sources of joy to everyone. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer, December 12, 2021, Advent 3
At Christmas, Lord, there are packages to be given, received, opened—gifts to be shared and unwrapped. We look to them with anticipation, wonder, and yes even joy. For it is joyful to give and to receive. And that is part of the joy of Christmas.
Yet, this Christmas, we pray you help us expand that joy. May we be so blessed as to see beyond the presents under the tree, beyond the wrapping paper, beyond what material object has been given and received and see also the opportunities before us to receive and share the joy of Christmas—that your son comes so that we, and others, would have new life and have it abundantly.
May we learn anew what this joyous celebration is all about: your gift to us, in Jesus, and our gifts to others that reflect and reveal and share his hope, peace, joy, and love.
So we pray holy God, come to us anew, and refocus our Christmas “to-dos”. Help us to know that what we should always aim to do—at Christmas and everyday—is to share gifts that are good, right, faithful and just. For in the giving of such gifts we honor you, we honor the birth of our Savior, and we honor your children with the gifts that provide dignity, compassion, and love.
So help us to share these gifts in whatever way we can—in the opportunities you present. For we are here, now, asking… What should we do? Give us your answer for each of our lives.
Lord, as we press through this season of Advent preparations, may you make our preparations about the hope, peace, joy, and love your Son, our Savior brings. May we prepare by being your servants who ask ourselves “What should we do?” and then listen for your call to give gifts of goodness, righteousness, faithfulness, and justice.
We ask that you would hear now the prayers of our hearts, offered in this time of holy silence.
All this we pray in the name of our Savior Jesus, the source of all joy, who taught us to pray saying, “Our…”