LUKE 3:10-18
TO ME THIS IS ONE OF THE
MOST INTERESTING GOSPEL PASSAGES. BUT YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT IT IN
CONTEXT. I THINK MOST OF US HAVE A PICTURE OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. IN
FACT, HE IS THE ONLY CHARACTER IN THE NEW TESTAMENT THAT HAS HIS
CLOTHING DESCRIBED – HE WORE A GARMENT MADE OF CAMEL'S HAIR AND A
LEATHER BELT. WE ALSO KNOW WHAT HE ATE. LOCUSTS AND WILD HONEY.
AND EVEN THOUGH HE WAS RELATED TO JESUS, IN THOSE DAYS THEY PROBABLY
HAD ALMOST NOTHING TO DO WITH EACH OTHER – JESUS, AFTER ALL, GREW
UP IN NAZARETH, AND JOHN IN THE HILL COUNTRY OF JUDEA. THAT'S A
DISTANCE OF ABOUT 100 MILES, AND NOT EASY TO DO WHEN YOU HAD TO WALK.
SCHOLARS THINK THAT JOHN MAY HAVE JOINED ONE OF THOSE SECTS THAT
LIVED OUT IN THE DESERT – THEY WERE CALLED “ESSENES” – AND
THEY BELIEVED THAT THE WORLD WAS GOING TO END VERY SOON AND THAT THE
BEST THING YOU COULD DO TO PREPARE WAS TO GO OUT IN THE DESERT AND
CONCENTRATE ON LIVING A LIFE OF PRAYER, RIGOROUSLY KEEPING THE LAW OF
MOSES, AND STAYING AWAY FROM CONTAMINATION BY THE GENERAL CULTURE.
THEY RESEMBLED A MONASTIC ORDER.
SO JOHN CAME OUT OF THE
DESERT, WE WERE TOLD LAST WEEK, BECAUSE THE WORD OF GOD CAME TO HIM.
AND WHEN WE READ ABOUT JOHN, HE WAS NO SHRINKING VIOLET. HE TOLD THE
PEOPLE THAT THEY WERE A BROOD OF VIPERS, AND THAT IF GOD WANTED TO HE
COULD MAKE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM OUT OF ROCKS. WE KNOW THAT JOHN
WASN'T AFRAID OF ANYONE. HE DARED TO TELL THE KING THAT HE WAS
LIVING IN SIN, HAVING MARRIED HIS BROTHER'S WIFE. JOHN WAS A TROUBLE
MAKER; HE WAS DRAWING CROWDS TO THE SHORE OF THE JORDAN RIVER AND
BAPTIZING THE ONES WHO WANTED TO SIGNIFY THEIR REPENTANCE – AND
JOHN HAD NO AUTHORITY – HE WASN'T A PRIEST OR A RABBI.
SO TODAY YOU HEAR
A FEW BRAVE SOULS; THEY'VE BEEN LISTENING TO JOHN PREACHING. THEY
SAY, “WHAT SHOULD WE DO?” PROBABLY EXPECTING JOHN WILL TELL THEM
TO GIVE UP THEIR JOBS AND GO OUT INTO THE DESERT. JOHN'S ADVICE IS
VERY MILD – IF YOU HAVE TWO COATS AND YOUR NEIGHBOR HAS NONE, GIVE
HIM ONE OF YOURS. SURELY THE TAX COLLECTORS EXPECTED TO BE TOLD TO
GIVE UP THEIR PROFESSION. A TAX COLLECTOR WAS ABOUT AS LOW AS YOU
COULD GET. THE WAY IT WORKED WAS THAT THE ROMANS APPOINTED SOMEONE
IN A VILLAGE WHOSE JOB IT WAS TO COLLECT TAXES. HE WAS RESPONSIBLE
FOR HANDING OVER THE SUM THE ROMANS DECIDED WAS FAIR. HE WOULD THEN
GO AROUND,. ACCOMPANIED BY A FEW SOLDIERS, AND TELL PEOPLE WHAT THEY
OWED. HE WAS ENTITLED TO A COMMISSION. YOU CAN SEE THAT THEIR WAS A
LITTLE ROOM FOR ABUSE HERE. BUT JOHN DOESN'T ORDER THEM TO STOP
WORKING – HE TELLS THEM TO TAKE ONLY WHAT THEY ARE ENTITLED TO.
THE SOLDIERS WERE ONLY SLIGHTLY ABOVE THE TAX COLLECTORS ON THE
SOCIAL SCALE. THEY WOULD USE THEIR POSITIONS TO THREATEN PEOPLE –
“THAT'S A NICE SHOP YOU HAVE THERE”, THEY WOULD SAY. “IT WOULD
BE TOO BAD IF IT BURNED TO THE GROUND SOME NIGHT. FORTUNATELY, FOR A
SLIGHT FEE WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN.” AND JOHN TELLS
THEM, “BE CONTENT WITH YOUR PAY.”
JOHN HAS BEEN CALLING THE
PEOPLE TO REPENTANCE. THAT WORD IS A TRANSLATION OF THE GREEK WORD
METANOIA, WHICH DOESN'T QUITE MEAN WHAT REPENTANCE MEANS. METANOIA
MEANS “OUT OF THE MIND” OR PERHAPS, “CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK”.
EACH OF THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTION, “WHAT SHOULD WE DO” ARE
BASICALLY THE SAME ANSWER – WHEN YOU ARE DEALING WITH ANOTHER
PERSON, LOOK TO HIS OR HER WELFARE FIRST, BEFORE YOUR OWN. SEE OTHER
PEOPLE AS PERSONS, NOT AS OBJECTS TO BE EXPLOITED.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS
ABOUT THIS GOSPEL IS THAT THE ADVICE COMING FROM JOHN JUST DOESN'T
SEEM TO GO ALONG WITH WHAT A WILD MAN FROM THE DESERT SHOULD BE
TELLING PEOPLE. AND INDEED, IN THE NEXT BREATH JOHN IS BACK TO HIS
OLD SELF, TELLING THE CROWDS THAT IF YOU THINK HE, JOHN, IS BAD NEWS,
WAIT TILL THE ONE JOHN IS PREPARING FOR COMES. JOHN IS NOTHING
COMPARED TO THAT ONE, WHO WILL SEPARATE THE WHEAT FROM THE CHAFF, AND
BURN THE CHAFF IN FIRE THAT NEVER GOES OUT.
DURING ADVENT WE HEAR A
LOT ABOUT JOHN THE BAPTIST. JESUS CALLS HIM THE GREATEST BORN OF
WOMAN UP TO THAT POINT IN HISTORY, AND JOHN IS TO PREPARE THE WAY FOR
INCARNATION. NOW JESUS IS ALREADY AROUND – HE IS ALREADY GOD
INCARNATE, GOD IN THE FLESH. BUT GOD IS NOT THROUGH BREAKING INTO
OUR WORLD; HE CONTINUES TO DO SO EVEN TODAY. GOD IS CONSTANTLY
PUTTING ON OUR FLESH AND BONES, AND A CONSEQUENCE OF INCARNATION IS
TO DRAW US TOGETHER, TO OVERCOME THE BARRIERS THAT WE CREATE BETWEEN
OURSELVES. WHEN THOSE BARRIERS ARE DOWN, GOD DWELLS IN US. AND
THOSE BARRIERS COME DOWN WHEN WE FOLLOW JOHN'S COMMANDS AND SEE EACH
OTHER AS PERSONS, WORTH EVERY BIT AS MUCH AS WE ARE, DESERVING OF
EVERYTHING WE DESERVE, BEING RESPECTED AS MUCH AS WE DESIRE RESPECT.
WHEN WE TREAT EACH OTHER AS PERSONS, GOD IS THERE, WEARING MY FLESH,
WEARING YOURS.
RIGHT AFTER JOHN
THREATENS THE PEOPLE WITH UNQUENCHABLE FIRE IF THEY DON'T GET WITH
THE PROGRAM, THE GOSPEL PASSAGE ENDS WITH THE CURIOUS STATEMENT, “IN
THIS AND MANY OTHER WAYS JOHN PREACHED THE GOOD NEWS TO THE PEOPLE.”
GOOD NEWS? UNQUENCHABLE FIRE? HMM.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT YOU
DON'T HAVE TO GO OUT INTO THE DESERT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO GIVE UP YOUR
JOB OR WEAR CLOTHES MADE OUT OF CAMEL'S HAIR OR EAT LOCUSTS AND
HONEY. OUR CHRISTIAN HISTORY IS FILLED WITH THE STORIES OF SPIRITUAL
ATHLETES WHO SHAME US ALL WITH THEIR FASTING, THEIR GOOD WORKS, THEIR
EXEMPLARY LIVES, AND THAT IS A GOOD THING, BECAUSE THEY REMIND US
THAT WE COULD ALWAYS DO BETTER, WE COULD ALWAYS DO MORE. BUT THE
ESSENTIALS ARE AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE – YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A A
SPIRITUAL ATHLETE OR A ROCKET SCIENTIST. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO BE
PART OF THE MYSTERY OF INCARNATION, TO BE PART OF GOD BREAKING INTO
THE WORLD, IS TO LIVE THE FACT THAT GOD IS ALREADY IN YOU AND AND IN
YOUR NEIGHBOR. WHEN YOU DO THIS, THAT'S THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, THAT
IS WHAT JOHN FORETOLD, WHAT JESUS CAME TO BUILD, AND THAT IS ALREADY
IN OUR MIDST.
