What Are We to Do?

John the Baptist appears as a commanding figure on two occasions during the season of Advent. First, on the second Sunday of Advent and again on the third Sunday of Advent, John appears as a prophet in his strange outfit of camel hair, sandals, and a leather belt.

John’s style of speaking is gruff and blunt, even insulting. He calls for baptism, a baptism of repentance. Speaking to his fellow Jews, John tells them they need to start all over again by receiving the water normally required only of converts to the Jewish faith. Surprisingly, the crowds came to be baptized. They are eager for a fresh start. Yet, John’s words insult them. He calls them a brood of vipers – a bunch of baby snakes!

Confused, you may wonder why John called out these words. John wanted these eager Jews to realize they could not rely on their claim to Abraham, their faithful ancestor, and what he had done in the past. Furthermore, John did not want them to rely on the baptism he was doing in the River Jordan. This preacher was making three things very clear to his audience:

if these individual were truly repentant,
if they had truly undergone a change of what they had previously thought,
if they had made a change in how they lived,

Then IF these 3 things were true, then it would be visible by a change in their attitude which would be seen through their behavior!

Going on, John tells his listeners that just as an owner of an orchard expects his trees to bear fruit, so also God expects His people to produce fruit – the glorious fruits of repentance! These accusing words ignite a response in those who are listening and hear John. They ask, “What then must we do?”

Three groups ask this same question, but each group gets a different answer.

First, let’s look at those who seem most deserving of suspicion – the tax collectors. Keep in mind, that the Jewish tax collectors who lived when John was alive, represented the powerful Roman government that occupied Galilee. Tax collecting was a lucrative racket if those individuals had little or no conscience. They simply added “interest” to cover their own expenses and to pad their income.

Yet, these tax collectors were listening to John and wanting to change, asked, “What must we do?”

John told them, “Collect no more than what is appointed to you.” In other words, John told these men they were to collect only the amount of tax that was legal. They were to be honest and not collect extra coins to pocket, keeping them for themselves. They were to help the Jewish people who needed their coins for themselves and their families.

Next, some soldiers approached him. These soldiers were Jewish men in service to the local ruler who governed at the pleasure of the imperial Roman state. Unfortunately, these soldiers were in the unenviable position of enforcing the will of the occupying power in the Jews own homeland. Local patriots saw these soldiers as traitors and despised them.
Yet, these soldiers who were listening to John also want an answer, so they asked, “What must we do?”

John tells them, “Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages.” In other words, John told these soldiers to show integrity when doing their jobs. They were to refrain from abusing their power by their actions or accusations. They were to be content with earning their basic wages.

However, the bulk of the crowd, who were neither tax collectors nor soldiers, were pierced to the heart by John’s words calling for works of repentance. They were not public figures but private individuals. Yet, they also asked, “What must we do?”

To them, John responded, “He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise.” Again, John told this inquiring crowd to share whatever they had with someone who had nothing.

So the tax collectors, the soldiers, and the private citizens were all told by John that the glorious fruits of repentance include much that was ordinary. They were each to stop extorting, bullying, and grumbling about money. They were to share their surplus clothing and food with those who were destitute.

John did not ask for any in this crowd to do anything that was explicitly religious, such as fasting or offering a sacrifice at the temple. Nor did he demand anything extraordinary, such as relocating to the wilderness as he had done. What he told this crowd of different individuals was that opportunities to bear fruit appear right in front of them every day.

John did not present an exhaustive program or a complicated change in how they were to live once he had baptized them. After their baptism of repentance, he simply points to the first step they can take in a new direction. By what they abstained from doing and by what they chose to do, their repentant behavior opened them to whatever God directed them to do.

John presumed that having heard his words, as their circumstances changed, they would again ask, “What are we to do?” The answers would not come from the prophet’s lips but rather from within their own hearts. Thus, if those who were newly washed in the Jordan had the opportunity and obligation to bear fruits of repentance, certainly those who would receive the far greater baptism with the Spirit and the fire bestowed by Christ would be expected to bear such fruits as well. John clearly indicated that the opportunity and obligation to do so would appear right in front of them.

The word repentance in Greek is metanoia, which literally means a change of mind that determines how one lives.

What opportunities for metanoia (repentance) appear right in front of us now?

What do these opportunities ask of us?

Let me raise the scripture’s question again, but this time about ourselves, “What are we to do?”

*Look at your life. Recognize the places where it is broken. With whom do you need to reconcile before the feast of this Christmas?

*Look at how you use power. Do you use it justly or are you part of the problem?

*Look at what you have in your closet, in your refrigerator, in your wallet, and in your bank account. If you have two coats and if you possess food in abundance, is it time for YOU to share?

Today’s gospel identifies John’s gruff and blunt demands as Good News! These demands are targeted at us. When we hear them in faith, we can recognize them as Good News. They speak to us of the fruit we can produce. Once our faith produces fruit, then the world around us begins to change and so do we! Again, isn’t this Good News?

Because once other people realize that Jesus remains active in the world as seen through our lives, that new reality consoles and challenges them!

Let us pray –

Holy Spirit, you trouble our hearts with the question, “What are we to do?

Help us recognize how the answers to that question are near at hand, right in front of our faces.

Help us to act on our faith by daily choices we make for reconciliation, for justice, for sharing, and for joy.

May we never cease to ask, “What are we to do?” and may we never stop trusting that you will give us the answer. AMEN

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.