by Pastor Kelli Schmit

Our reading this morning is a continuation of last week’s text, where God’s word bypassed all the so-called important people in important places and came to John in the wilderness.  We were reminded of the words from the prophet Isaiah, beautiful words of God calling God’s people back home to the Promised Land after being exiled in Babylon.  God shows up in completely unexpected places – like in exile and to a bug-eating nomad in the wilderness – God shows up and comforts the people and calls them back home.

Last week was gorgeous…and then we get this week.  It starts off with John – calling all those who had gathered to hear him speak – he calls them a brood of vipers.  Now, I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but a nest of poisonous snakes is not one of them.  A+ to John for creativity.  I gotta give it to him, that’s a unique insult.

John tells those gathered to bear fruit worthy of repentance.  If you’re wondering what it means to bear fruit worthy of repentance – what that looks like lived out – you’re not alone.  Some tax collectors and members of the Roman military and your everyday person – they all asked John the same question; What should we do?  How do we bear fruits worthy of repentance?

John answers plainly: by sharing with those who are struggling, by not taking excess from people, and by not abusing power to become even more wealthy.  Bearing fruit worthy of repentance, borrowing words from one author, means “no hoarding, no skimming, no extortion.”[1]  Even though John called them a brood of vipers, he is not saying that those in the crowd are inherently evil people but that they are taking liberties and taking advantage of the power and privilege they’ve been given.

Dr. Matt Skinner teaches that when John calls for fruit worthy of repentance, “he’s looking for more than just sorrow or remorse,” but John “is looking for changed behavior.”[2]  We are called to repentance, not as an exercise in self-flagellation, but this call compels us to be honest with ourselves and acknowledge where we’ve fallen short, and then doing something about it.  So where do we miss the mark?  Where do we take advantage of the comfort we’ve been given?  When do we misuse the power that’s been entrusted to us to further or expand our own comfort?  These are not fun questions to ponder, especially during a season where everything is jolly and bright.

By having this text in Advent, we are framing repentance as a way to prepare for the incarnation – a way to prepare to greet the one who shows up, even in unexpected places.  Taking time to consider these questions is hard.  Acknowledging where we have mis-stepped and need to repent is even harder.  Going a step further and actually changing our behavior is just shy of impossible.  I mean, who wants to prepare like that?  That’s not covered in glitter and tinsel.  I’m happy just tearing one little ring off my paper chain every day, thank you very much.

Repentance as a means of preparation only makes sense when we consider for whom we are preparing.  A smushy, cuddly baby doesn’t require much other than love, clean diapers, and a full tummy.  But the Messiah, who started off as a smushy cuddly baby, didn’t stay that way forever.  That baby grew up and loved and healed and forgave and worked to transform the world.  The one whose birth angels heralded – he calls us to be a part of his continued action of transformation.  This calls for a special kind of preparing.  The repentance kind.

So the goal of John’s proclamation isn’t that we rag on ourselves – that isn’t the goal.  It’s not a Santa Claus Jesus is watching you and if you’re not careful you’ll get coal in your stocking sort of situation.  The call to repentance is a call to be transformed.  It is exciting because it revolves around efforts that are life-giving, that enhance the community, and that protect the dignity and wellbeing of others.  The goal isn’t pity or despair but the intent is transformation.  John reveals that God is using us to transform the world.

If repentance implies a change of behavior and perspective, then, in the words of Dr. Karoline Lewis, “The way you move in the world, the decisions that you make […] is actually an embodiment of the fact that you have a changed perspective, that you have a change of how you see reality that God is here and that God is present.  There needs to be a correlation there.”[3]

With repentance comes a change of mind and a change of how we are in the world.  What we do, what we say, what we post on social media, how we treat others reflects the conviction that God is here and present with us.  It is hard to proclaim that God is near and then, in the next breath, extort someone under threat of violence.  It is hard to say that God is present while skimming some finances off the top.  It is hard to tell people that God is breaking into our reality while hoarding resources to oneself, when there is a whole part of our world full of people who would truly appreciate the gift of the extra cloak.  John is asking us, how would we act, how would we behave, if we matched our actions with our proclamations about God?  This is not easy.  Bearing fruit worthy of repentance is not draped in twinkly lights.

This Advent we are looking for and preparing for God’s presence to break-through and be with us.  God’s presence may not appear as we would expect.  God’s presence looks like a burning bush and water gushing forth from a stone.  God’s presence looks like a baby in a manger, a Messiah on a cross, and shadows in an empty tomb.  God’s presence looks like a dinner guest while traveling to Emmaus, and it looks like fire that empowers people to speak different languages and share the message of God’s love with a broader audience.  God’s presence looks like bread and wine and water.  All of these examples are familiar to us and, therefore, unsurprising to us.  But in the moment, they would have been truly shocking.  And God’s presence may continue to surprise. 

Maybe, just maybe, God’s presence looks like a community of God’s beloved wrestling with tough questions and uncomfortable realities.  Maybe the nearness of God is revealed when people acknowledge there is a different path to choose.  Maybe the inbreaking of God’s presence shows up in just one person making a change.

Now keep in mind, John is calling us to acts of repentance, not acts to procure our salvation.  The one who began as a baby and who walked out of an empty tomb already took care of that.  So from the edges of the wilderness John is calling us to participate in the work of transformation, and that work is hard.  There’s no doubt about that.  But it is also seeped in grace.  There is no “or else” attached at the end.  God’s presence with us isn’t overshadowed by a punitive angle.  God doesn’t create some divine naughty or nice list.  And there’s no mandate or expectation that we be perfect all the time or that we can’t mess up.  We are free to continue striving for, working toward, and trying to be aware of the realities around us and the parts we play within those systems. 

And we don’t do this difficult work alone.  God has gifted us with a community of fellow disciples with whom we can engage the complexities and the temptations and the realities of this world.  Through the waters of baptism, we became part of a larger family of faith full of people who John also called to repentance. 

Not only that, through baptism God shares the power of the Holy Spirit.  God’s Spirit is moving in us and around us, helping us be a part of God’s work of transforming the world.  The only way we are even capable of bearing fruit worthy of repentance is all because of the Holy Spirit.[4]

When the Spirit empowers us and helps us make adjustments to how we are in the world, this is not to keep a Santa Claus Jesus happy so we can get fun toys, but these changes reveal God calling us to a more true and authentic life of discipleship.  God is doing something new and calls us to join in that work.   With the Spirit’s help we can engage in hard work.  With the Spirit’s help we can do challenging things.  With the Spirit’s help we can be a part of God’s transforming of the world.  Thanks be to God.

Amen.

[1] Karl Jacobson, “Preach This Week, December 16, 2012, Gospel Reading, Commentary on Luke 3:7-18,” Working Preacher from Luther Seminary https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1499 (accessed December 9, 2021).
[2] Matt Skinner from: Working Preacher, “Brainwave 816: Third Sunday of Advent – Dec. 12, 2021,” Dec 5, 2021, video, 27:35, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4gDvk4OOLQ.
[3] Karoline Lewis from: Working Preacher, “Brainwave 816: Third Sunday of Advent – Dec. 12, 2021,” Dec 5, 2021, video, 27:35, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4gDvk4OOLQ.
[4] Lewis.