The Gospel for The Second Sunday of Advent (December 5, 2004)
Matthew 3:1-12
In due course John the Baptist appeared; he proclaimed this message in the desert of Judaea, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.’ This was the man spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said: A voice of one that cries in the desert, ‘Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.’ This man John wore a garment made of camel–hair with a leather loin–cloth round his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judaea and the whole Jordan district made their way to him, and as they were baptised by him in the river Jordan they confessed their sins. But when he saw a number of Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism he said to them, ‘Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming retribution? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance, and do not presume to tell yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father,” because, I tell you, God can raise children for Abraham from these stones. Even now the axe is being laid to the root of the trees, so that any tree failing to produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown on the fire. I baptise you in water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is more powerful than I, and I am not fit to carry his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing–fan is in his hand; he will clear his threshing–floor and gather his wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out.’ -- The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1995, c1985
A Study
We have in the gospel attributed to John (at 1:24) the Pharisees sent as agents to discover why John Baptist was baptizing, but they are not accused of being a 'brood of vipers,' as here. In the gospel attributed to Luke, John Baptist speaks to the "crowd," not the Pharisees, and accuses them of being a brood of vipers. Mark -- in typical haste -- makes no mention of the crowd.
But Matthew's writers zero in on the Pharushim, early on! Please recall that it was only some of the Pharisees and others who were enemies to Jesus, certainly not all of them. Many (if not most) Pharisees were doing what they felt they needed to do to be acceptable under the Law.
The Big Message, however, is one of proclamation. There comes one after me who is greater ... and he will baptize with the Spirit and with fire.
A Reflection
Today, on the way to do some shopping, the woman who was gracious enough to marry me 37+ years ago, having then known me for all of six weeks [!] observed that I was becoming grouchy over the driving habits of those around me, even while we were listening to a delightful album of Christmas music*. And here I had graciously let who knows how many people into traffic, in the mood for the season, and she calls me grouchy? How much holier could I have been? Maybe as holy as one of the Pharisees come out to see this strange fellow from the desert that everybody has been talking about?
"God can raise chidren ... from these stones."
Imagine being in those people's shoes, and being told that the Jewish heritage that is so highly vaunted and valued is not as huge a deal as they had put their fervent hopes on. The people in those shoes would likely have been rocked back. Chosen people. Led from Egypt. Pharaoh's chariots submerged. Water from a rock. Manna from Heaven. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob who became Israel. Solomon. David. The Psalter. Judges and Kings. The mighty prophets. The second Temple. But now -- Rome.
In an already unstable and precarious time, with the Chosen of Israel under the thumb of yet another oppressor, this wild-looking man comes out of the wilderness and tells us to repent, calls us a brood of vipers, and says our heritage is so much ... chaff? We, who practice purity and can find no extreme worthy of the name in trying to achieve ultimate purity?
As much as some widely-televised personalities would like for us today to believe that God is punishing us with acts like 9/11 and the hurricanes that damaged Orlando, an authentic John-Baptist figure remains hidden from us today.
What we do have, of course, are the people that love us enough to point out our weaknesses and failures. And while we can react as I did (turn off the music), a much more mature response to our faith is to listen to John's cry coming to us over the years, through a different voice.
*Christmas at St. Philip's (Charleston,SC) write cburk@stphilipschurchsc.org for ordering information
The Collect
Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
5:43:37 PM 
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