Ho, Ho, Ho, Ye Brood of Vipers!

Luke 3:7-18

I love the figure of John the Baptist! He is the crazy uncle invited to the family holiday gathering. He dresses inappropriately for the occasion and is always saying things that embarrass everyone. That is the way John the Baptist invades our scripture readings in church during December. People pay to bring their children to have breakfast with Santa at the Corner House. No one in their right mind would eat breakfast with John the Baptist! After all his diet is locusts and wild honey. Santa has his jolly “Ho, ho, ho’s.”  John the Baptist says, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” That is not the message we want to hear at Christmas! This is supposed to be the sentimental season where we Ooo! and Ahh! at the baby Jesus in the manger. It is the season of angels, shepherds and Christmas carols. But instead of angelic lullabies about peace on earth, goodwill to men, we get in our scripture lessons today John the Baptist saying things we really do not want to hear at Christmastime. But we are not here in church to be coddled by Santa; we are here to be challenged by this wilderness prophet. There are five things John the Baptist says in our gospel lesson for today.

1. First, he says it is not about who you are – or who you say you are - it is about what you do. In other words actions speak louder than words. Our scripture lesson begins, verses 7-9: “Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

These people who were listening to John preach considered themselves children of Abraham, God’s chosen people, and that was enough. Who they were was most important, not what they did. We hear the same type of things today from both Christians and non-Christians. Christians talk about being children of God, born of the Spirit, redeemed by Christ, the elect of God. Christians emphasize being saved by faith by the grace of God. Christians say that it is all about who we are in relation to God, and not about what we do. That is the foundation of the Protestant Reformation – salvation by faith. That is true … in part. But it does also matter what we do. Those outside of the Christian tradition say the same sort of things. People will say that everyone is a child of God and that this is all that matters. That we are all perfect just the way we are, and to suggest anything less would damage our self-esteem.

In the new book Proof of Heaven, neurosurgeon Dr. Eben Alexander relates a Near Death Experience that he had while suffering from rare form of bacterial meningitis. He says that while in a coma he went to heaven where he saw and heard wonderful things. Alexander says that he traveled through heaven, surrounded by "millions of butterflies," with a woman, who later turns out to be his deceased sister. This woman gave him three messages: “You are loved and cherished, dearly, forever," “You have nothing to fear" and “There is nothing you can do wrong.” Do you hear the message? That we are fine just the way we are and we can do nothing wrong. That is exactly the opposite message from John the Baptist, who preaches a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. He not only says we can do things wrong, he says we certainly do wrong, and we have to own up to it and repent of it. John doesn’t care about possibly damaging our self-esteem. He tells his hearers that it doesn’t matter who they are. God can raise up children of Abraham from the stones on the ground it he wants. John says that what is most important that we repent and bear fruits worthy of repentance. That means it matters what we do.

It is a message worth listening to today. It is a message worth hearing at Christmastime. It is a message that Santa used to echo in years past. According to the song, Santa used to dole out gifts based on whether you were naughty or nice. Not these days. Nowadays, it just matters how much money mommy and daddy have, or at least grandma or grandpa have.  There seem to be less and less of moral responsibility and accountability in our society. I think John the Baptist’s message is a good counterbalance to the fluffy spirituality and ethical immaturity of our culture. It does matter what we do. Not when it comes to Christmas presents for kids. I think every kid ought to have Christmas presents no matter what. I disagree with the Naughty or Nice criteria, and the thought of putting coal in a child’s stocking is just plain mean.  But when it comes to real life it does matter what we do.

In the gospel story the people who heard John preach wanted specifics about what they ought to do. What type of things are fruits worthy of repentance. Three different groups of people came to John to be baptized asked what they ought to do.

II. The first was a question asked by the general audience in verses 10-11. “So the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then?” He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” In short his answer was to Share the Surplus. If you have two coats, give one away to the person who has none. If you have food, give some to those who are hungry. This fits in well with the spirit of Christmas giving we hear at this time of year. Newspapers and evening news shows are filled with human interest stories about people and organizations that are giving to those in need. There are a lot of people in need in this country and in the world, people suffering from this bad economy as well as natural catastrophes, those injured in war, those suffering from debilitating diseases. There are a lot of people who need help. And there are a lot of people who are well off who can help. John is saying that if we have the resources to help people who have less, then we have a moral responsibility before God to do so. John talks specifically about food and clothing in this verse, and that is a good place to start.

There was a wonderful story on 60 Minutes last month. It was entitled “Children Helping Children” about a movement called Free the Children, started by a 12 year-old named Craig Kielburger. He is now 29 years old and heads this multi-million dollar charity and volunteer organization that helps children in bondage and poverty. It is wonderful mission. And it is all done by children. 95% of the volunteers are under 18 years-old. He holds rallies around the US and Canada where 20,000 kids attend at a time and get excited about helping other kids. This is not a religious mission, but it is exactly the type of thing that religious faith should prompt. It all boils down to individuals giving of their time and resources to help others.

That is what the essence of religion is. The apostle James says, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” John the Baptist could have spoken those words. It is about seeing the world as about more than ourselves and our immediate families. It is about adopting a wider vision of human community. It is about understanding that we are responsible for those who do not have enough. We are responsible as individuals, as households, as a church, as a religion, as a nation. We are our brother and sister’s keeper. I don’t get into politics and I don’t care how we do it, but the most vulnerable of people in our country need to be helped. I will let the Republicans and Democrats fight over what the role the government should have in this task. But we should have no doubt that the church has a role and responsibility to be part of the solution.

III. After John the Baptist gave this answer, another group spoke up. Verses 12-13 “Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.” Tax collectors were coming to be baptized by John. These were Roman tax collectors, normally Jews collaborating with the Roman occupiers. Tax collecting back then was one of the most corrupt professions in Palestine. People bid to get the job. Those who made the highest bid to collect the most money for Rome were awarded the job of tax collector. They had to raise this certain sum of money to pay the Romans, and they were allowed to keep a percentage of the total as their wages. But there was also an extra perk. They could also keep any money that they collected over and above the agreed amount that they raise for Rome. If they were supposed to raise 50,000 denarii but actually raised 60,000, they could legally keep the extra 10,000. So the incentive was strong to collect as much as they possibly could by any means they could! Therefore a lot of tax collectors were very greedy, very corrupt, very rich and very despised by the taxpayers. John tells that if they surrendered their lives to God, then they should not collect more taxes than agreed. So their faith was going to cost them a lot of money. 

This instruction is about what we might call today business ethics. Being a follower of God and Christ means that we conduct our financial dealings in an honorable fashion. Even if it costs us money. This has tremendous implications, if we think about it for a moment. S individuals it means we don’t cheat on our taxes. It has implications for big retailers. You remember the clothing factory that burned in Bangladesh three weeks ago, killing 112 people. The 1,400 workers were trapped inside the eight-story building because exit doors were locked. This unsafe factory, which did not even have emergency exits, apparently made clothing for Wal-Mart, Sears, Disney and other retailers. John the Baptist’s words speak to the type of business ethics that will put people’s lives at risk to make products cheaper and produce a bigger profit.

III. A third group questioned John in verse 14 “Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?” So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.” Soldiers were being baptized by John. It is possible that these were Jewish temple guards. But it is more likely that these were Roman soldiers who acted as a sort of police force in Palestine. If that is true, this is remarkable! And it tells us something about the military and police. First, one can be a soldier and a follower of God. The two occupations are not contradictory as pacifists believe.

Second, those in the military and police are required to live by ethical standards established by God. It means not to abuse power, mistreat people, or use one’s position for financial gain beyond one’s wages. There is a lot that can be applied here to big city police departments where corruption and abuse of power are problems. It also speaks to members of the military who must remember that even though they pledge allegiance to the nation, they are accountable to a higher power, the one who is the ruler of all nations, in how they conduct military operations. This applies all the way up the chain of command to the Joint Chiefs and the Commander in Chief and the way our nation conducts foreign policy. John the Baptist was no stranger to speaking prophetically to the heads of state. In fact his outspokenness in challenging the immorality of Herod is what got him beheaded. We see this is still true in my countries today.

IV. There is a final question asked by the crowd. This question was not asked to John but instead about John. Verses 15-18 “Now as the people were in expectation, and all reasoned in their hearts about John, whether he was the Christ or not, John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.” And with many other exhortations he preached to the people.”

This final question is about Christ. This is the most important question to ask during Advent. It is important to raise questions about morality and repentance during this season when most people are not thinking about either. But in this story the ethical questions lead up to a theological question. The people wondered if John was the Messiah. John rightly denies the title and points to the one who is to come after him, whose sandals he is unworthy to unstrap. He will baptize with a greater baptism and cleanse the soul and not just the body. He pointed people to Jesus Christ.

That is what Advent is about. It is about Christ. Although the secular holiday is mostly about festivities, family and gift-giving, the sacred holiday is purely about Christ. There are some Christian groups that refuse to even celebrate Christmas because they see it as polluting the message of Christ. I don’t go that far, obviously. I had a visit from the Jehovah’s Witnesses, who came knocking on my door while I was working on this sermon. They don’t do Christmas. The Puritans whom we celebrate at Thanksgiving did not celebrate Christmas. Christmas was banned in Boston in the 17^th century. There are some conservative Christian churches today that refuse to celebrate Christmas, saying that it is too mixed with pagan symbolism. That sounds too much like Ebenezer Scrooge to me: “Bah, humbug!” I like celebrating Christmas. But it is important to focus the celebration on Jesus Christ, like John the Baptist focused people’s attention on Christ. The question of Advent is “Who is Christ and what does he ask of us?”