Meeting Matthew Again...Anew

So we have prayerfully pondered the ways we have too easily dismissed and denied John because of his clothing and diet.

Perhaps that has also shined a light on the ways we do that to others who see the world different than we do...still to this day.

And now...we hear John's sermon.

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.  “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

And all that work I did in the last blog post suddenly went right out the window! 
Suddenly all my pleas to take John seriously leave you say, "Seriously Wes...you can't possibly think there is much in that passage."

I mean, brood of vipers...way to win friends and influence people.
I mean, wrath to come...now you know where Jonathan Edwards got the sermon title, "Sinners in the Hands of an Anger God" (which if you have never read...and want the above quote to seem tame... you could click here to read Edwards' famous words..if ye dare!)
I mean, ax at the root...and if you are still reading this blog post, ye are to be commended!

Wait with me...because in the midst of some very harsh and hard words...there is also this gem:
Bear fruit worthy of repentance.  What is the fruit growing in your life right now?  John is saying it is not just enough to be baptized...you have to live it and let God's claim shine through your life.  John is saying, don't just wade in the water, let the water create a tidal wave of change in you.  John is saying, it isn't just enough to sing the doxology on Sunday...we have to live it on Monday.

And now you want to dismiss John for reasons other than his clothing and diet.

See what I mean about John still challenging us.

Here we are half way through the first month of the year.  What fruits are growing in my life?  What ways is baptism making a difference not just to me but to the world God so loves?  Those questions are as powerful as the day John spoke them on the edge of the Jordan River.  I don't want just to be a tourist at the Jordan River this year, I want this moment to transform my living every day.  I don't want to just causally stand by, observing all this...I want to take seriously that through being immersed in water, we are forever immersed in God.

That might mean that I let God get a word in edgewise...to show me what is actually wheat and chaff in my life right now.  That will probably mean that I will disagree with God.  Perhaps that thing I do which I think is helping, God might say is hurting me and others.  Perhaps that committee I am on where I get to be the important chair is really just chaff..dust in the wind.  Perhaps that thing I cling to, God is saying let go of.

See what I mean about John still challenging us.

But now, I don't want to dismiss John.  Now I see why people went down to the river to pray, studying about the good old day and who should wear the crown of thorns, good Lord, show us the way. 

So may the questions of fruitfulness sing to your heart...stir your soul...and find expression in this month and every month this year.  May there be more than a trace of God's grace for you in these days.

Blessings ~~