“A certain single-mindedness”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Sunday, December 4, 2022
Matthew 3:1-12 (Forward, p. 36) CEV p. 983
There is something that I admire about John the Baptist, even though I am not always of the mind to imitate him. (Sometimes it just plain scares me). It is his single-mindedness, his determination to fulfill God’s mandate and let nothing, nothing at all, deter or sway him from doing so. And what was his mandate? It was to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. This John did by both word and deed.
a) By word he preached a call to repentance to all who came to him:
“Turn back to God!” he said. (That is, repent). “The kingdom of heaven will soon be here.”
And, as it turns out, it didn’t matter who it was that came. He preached repentance to all, whether high or low. He even demanded this of the highbrow Pharisees and Sadducees who came. “You bunch of snakes, brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming judgment? Do something to show that you have really given up your sins.” And, as we will later learn, he even demanded this of Herod Antipas, the king--much to his downfall.
b) And by deed, he baptized them, as an outward and visible sign that they really had turned back to God. For us today, we can scarcely imagine how radical a step, how outrageous a demand, that was. That is because baptism was something demanded only of pagan or Gentile converts to Judaism, or, perhaps, in some cases, of Jews that had apostatized, seriously departed from the faith. Why, with ‘normal’ Jews, a simple proof of ancestry from Abraham—as mentioned here by John—was enough, enough to ‘cover’ all sins, all barriers to belonging to God and His people. They were ‘covered’ by the faith of Abraham, no matter what, regardless of what they had or had not done. So, John was basically bursting their balloons of apathy, contentment, self-assurance and self-sufficiency and demanding that they ‘clean up their act.’
I find that such determination, such devotedness, such single-mindedness, on the part of John to be more than a wee bit unnerving. It raises a question to me, namely, “Am I willing to be anywhere as determined, as devoted, as single-minded, in fulfilling my particular calling or mandate? Or, am I quite willing, even inclined, to slack off and take it easy whenever it suits me? Indeed, those questions might be asked of all of us, regardless of our calling.
And, in case we are questioning that word, ‘calling’ as applied to each of us, we need to realize that all of us have a calling, whether it be our occupation or our role in the church or community, or even something as simple as being a father or mother, uncle or aunt. God has a job for each of us to do, to fulfill, during our lifetime. And, sad to say, probably very few of us are anywhere as determined to fulfill this as was John the Baptist. Maybe this Advent would be a time to rekindle that calling and pursue it with a bit more vigor and devotion. Amen.
Forward notes: “But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire’” (verses 7-10).
“John the Baptist was a charismatic preacher, but I think his rhetoric is harsh. Most of us who preach would never talk like this to the faithful. And this type of preaching would prompt most people to seek a clergy resignation. But John is not out to win friends, just followers.
“John the Baptist says if we think our status, our heritage, or our faithful piety is what saves us, we’re wrong. Instead, it is how we live our lives, the fruit we bear, and the humble admission of our failings and shortcomings that strengthens our lifelong relationship with God. Every time we pray the words, ‘Save us from the time of trial,’ I will remember John’s advice. Now is the time to bear good fruit.”
Moving Forward: “Is the fruit you bear plentiful and delicious?”
A concluding note: I’m afraid that I must disagree with today’s author. It is not our works, the ways we live our lives, that save us. It is our faith in God, in our Lord Jesus Christ. Our works, the ways we live our lives, are merely the outworking, the evidence, the fruit, you might say, of that faith. Those works are the proof that we really do have that saving faith in Jesus Christ.