John said to the crowds that came out to
be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath
to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance.” (Luke
3:7-8a)
What’s up with this?
The Third Sunday of Advent has been known
since the ninth century as Guadete Sunday. That’s when the Church decided to
shorten the period of Advent from forty days, as it had been since the fifth
century, to a mere four weeks. But, they still kept this little “party day” in
the middle of the season so waiting and fasting wouldn’t be too much of a
downer. Guadete is Latin for “Rejoice,” and it was the first word spoken in the
liturgy for this festival Sunday (See the epistle lesson from Philippians 4).
We symbolize the up-beat nature of the day by lighting a pink candle on the
Advent wreath and singing something happy and Christmassy like “Joy to the
World.”
The problem, however, is trying to
celebrate a “Rejoice Sunday” when the words of John the Baptist in the Gospel
lesson (Luke 3:7-18) sound more like “Kick-Butts-and-Take-Names Sunday.” I
mean, John just doesn’t sound like a happy camper. I don’t know of anybody who’d
feel particularly joyful to have John call them a snake and threaten them with
being thrown into the fire. Yet this tongue-lashing from the Baptist is
necessary. Sitting around waiting for God to come and fix our lives, our
churches, or our world just won’t get the job done. We are called to
repentance, to actively embrace social justice, rigorous honesty, and a
commitment to the Gospel. And John tells us we better start bearing some fruit.
Can we be honest? I love my little parish
in Philadelphia, but at times I’m worried about her health. In the time I’ve
served here I’ve seen Lutheran churches in my synod and conference fold up like
beer cans hit by Mac trucks. The ax is lying at the root of the tree. Good
doctrine and liturgy don’t seem to be enough to save us. After all, God is able
to raise up Lutherans from rocks if he wants to. But can Lutherans rise to the
challenge of bearing fruit? What should we do?
I’d say it’s pretty obvious. We need to
rediscover discipline. Discipline in
prayer. Discipline in worship attendance. Discipline in worship itself (Yeah. I’ve
got to talk to folks about bringing their Dunkin Donuts coffee into the worship
space during mass!). Discipline in Bible study. Discipline to serve as examples
for our children. Discipline in fellowship and care for each other. Discipline
in volunteering. Discipline in giving.
Those first century Christians were willing to die for their faith. We don't seem to be willing to be inconvenienced for ours. Is it any wonder what's happening?
I’ve heard it said that the signature of
mediocrity is chronic inconsistency. I like to think I’m a pretty nice guy, and
I hate to get on anyone’s case. Forgiveness and forbearance are my business.
But: I am witnessing a lack of consistency in my congregation which I can only
understand as a lack of commitment and a lack of respect. I hate to say it, but
there it is and I have to put it in words. This is why the Church, in her
wisdom, has punctuated the season of Advent with the admonitions of John the
Baptist. We need to be told while we are still in the pre-Christmas party mode
that faith is made real in actions,
and that a true trust in God will only manifest itself to the world if we who
are in the Church are willing to get off our lazy butts and do the work of God.
But here’s the good news. We serve a
gracious and loving God who wants to come into our hearts. If we’re willing to
let him in, he’ll burn away the chaff of indifference, apathy, and fear. The
change in our lives will be phenomenal—and that will be cause for rejoicing.
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