"Fruitful -- or Firewood?"

Luke 3:7-20 Dec.14/03

(Canadian Foodgrains Bank focus)

Searching for the Perfect Gift

With a week and half left until Christmas, the race is on to find that perfect gift for those special people on your list. Malls are crowded, parking lots are full, shoppers short-tempered as they elbow their way along crowded aisles looking for something that will satisfy the desires and expectations of friends and family members. Maybe this is the year for a gift certificate - anything to get me out of this mayhem! Yet deep down we have a hunch that the season is supposed to be about more than decoratively wrapped presents and high credit card bills. Will the recipients even remember a year from now what we got them? Do we even remember what we were given a year ago? And is our life markedly better as a result?

      Back in 1st-century Palestine, people were expectantly hoping for a Messiah, a Saviour who would deliver them from corrupt politics, unsympathetic overlords, and religion that smacked of compromise. The common folk hoped the Christ would usher in a golden age like that of David or Solomon in which the poor received justice, and gold and silver were plentiful. But before Jesus' public ministry began, God sent a messenger named John who wore the simplest of clothes and lived off the land -- which isn't saying much in a wilderness! John's message was that folks needed to think twice and prepare themselves for the day of the Messiah's appearance. It would be marked not by material wealth but by wrath and judgment on sin. Fire would devour anyone who had not been fruitful; destruction awaited the disobedient. John's "good news" was that the perfect gift had to do not with money or material goods but with merciful honest relationships, and something uniquely from God called the Holy Spirit.

The Fire of the Coming Wrath

Fire is a great thing in its place. Now that winter's here, we stoke the furnace or light the fireplace to get some heat in the house. Our vehicles burn fuel in a controlled way so we can zip along the roads and get places. But for John the Baptist, fire was a symbol of the wrath of God coming soon in judgment upon human folly and stubborn evil-doing.

      During the fall, it wasn't unusual to look up some days and see a big black cloud on the horizon. We'd suppose some farmer was burning the straw on their grain-field in preparation for planting the next crop. But in Scripture, fire is a symbol of divine judgment upon human and diabolical wickedness -- from the flaming sword guarding the Garden of Eden through to the apocalyptic trumpet's fire hurled upon the earth, and the final lake of fire for those not found in the book of life (Gen.3; Rev.8,20). Even in the New Testament, the author of Hebrews portrays God, by the very nature of His holiness, as a "consuming fire" (Heb.12:29). The Baptizer would have been familiar with Isaiah's words (33:14): "The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the godless: 'Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?'"

      So for John, the Messiah is not only coming, but associated with "the coming wrath". Lest we think this is too harsh a term, in the last book of the Bible the climax of God's punishment of the unrepentant on earth consists of seven "bowls" of God's "wrath" (Rev.16). John gets the attention of the callous but curious who come to investigate this voice in the wilderness in a couple of ways. One is to call them, "You brood of vipers!" (Lk.3:7) Translation: "You sons of snakes! Your mother was a choking boa and your father a venomous rattler!" John was hardly an example of soft-sell, for some reason he decided "friendship evangelism" just wasn't his style.

      He uses two sets of word pictures to sear into the imaginations of his listeners the reality of God's imminent judgment - one drawn from the orchard, the other from the grain-field. Both threaten fire for the unfruitful. V9: "The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." You can almost hear the chainsaw revving up in the background! Take God seriously or you'll be turned into firewood! There is an economy to the eternal justice of creaturely existence; those who spurn their Creator's instructions will not be allowed to avail themselves of the universe's resources indefinitely. The Lord Jesus Himself told a similar parable about cutting down a fig tree that was "using up" or wasting the soil (Lk.13:6-9).

      V17 depicts the Messiah as a farmer about the business of grain harvest in an era long before combines. The Palestinians used winnowing forks to toss the threshed kernels and husks up into the air so the breeze would separate them. "His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." No grain, no gain; who wants a barn full of worthless chaff? A year-old child may unwrap their Christmas gift under the tree and be as happy playing with the box as with what's inside, but anyone older isn't going to make that mistake. God's looking for what's of value in our lives, not the baggage or packaging that's throw-away. What does the Lord see as He peers into your life, your heart, your secret thoughts? What results from the 24 hours a day He gives you -- anything more than rushing to and fro?

      Before he gets to specifics, John takes a swing at the self-satisfied "I'm OK" attitude that pride and selfishness breed in us. He tells his listeners not to protest, "We have Abraham as our father" -- God is capable of producing children for Abraham out of the very stones on the ground! (3:8) God's truth has to shatter our smugness, our claims to good upbringing or achieved status, before we can perceive an honest appraisal of our real spiritual need.

      When we come to the point that we've given up, of having tried our best and realized we still come up short by heaven's standards, that's when God can break through. Linda Finstad is a married mother of one who emigrated to Canada from England 10 years ago. She recalls how far she once felt from God, saying, "I thought it was too late for me.I thought I was a lost cause." Despite this hopelessness, 5 years ago she felt it was her parental duty to taker her daughter to Sunday School. At one of the church services, as the congregation sang "Amazing Grace", something clicked inside, and tears poured down Finstad's face. She went forward when the pastor asked if anyone wanted to accept Jesus as their saviour and experience the forgiveness of Christ. Finstad says, "It was amazing." Her aim now is to produce the largest collection of recycled fashions in the world; so far she's created 64 "trashy fashions", which were recently on show at Edmonton's downtown library. Once lost spiritually, she's been found, reclaimed; she now teaches others to be good stewards of their resources. As well, her company 'Hats by Emmanuel' provides specialty headwear for thousands of women and children who experience hair loss due to cancer treatments. Her Fashion with Compassion fund has helped provide free headwear for young cancer patients across Alberta and BC, and in the city of Ottawa. She acknowledges, "God definitely had his hand in that, because I couldn't dream that up on my own." Out of her lostness, the emptying of Finstad's pride, God has been able to produce good fruit.

The Fruit of a Repentant Heart

The Baptizer's fiery warnings must have been accompanied by the Holy Spirit's conviction, because many who heard him were baptized in the Jordan and sought to mend their ways. "What should we do then?" they asked (v10). John's guidance was geared to the abilities and situation of each. V11 is addressed to ordinary people: "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." The word "tunic" here doesn't mean the main overcoat, which was indispensable, but "the inner and less necessary undergarment". He's not saying you absolutely must give away the shirt off your back, just SHARE out of your means. How many of us have extra clothes in our closets that we don't wear from one season to another? (or, as is too often the case, that don't FIT any more?!) Praise God for the Canadian Diabetes Society, Value Village, Salvation Army Thrift Stores and Goodwill drop boxes! A sense of blessing accompanies when we can "pass on" what we don't really need to someone who can put it to good use.

      Canadian Foodgrains Bank is a good example of John's instruction that "the one who has food should do the same". One growing project at Leduc in western Canada featured over 200 volunteers harvesting 280 acres of grain to feed people in northern Afghanistan. It's estimated that combined with federal grants, the project will feed 200,000 people for up to 6 months. One volunteer, John Taekema, says: "The whole reason we do this is because of Jesus." Mary Thompson, the Alberta rep for Canadian Foodgrains Bank, believes the essence of its philosophy can be captured in a personal story. She recalls, "When I was in Ethiopia, we stopped to visit a lady who lived in a house that had a dirt floor. The lady went into her house and came out with a loaf of bread and broke it into pieces and shared it with everyone in our group.When it was my turn to receive from her, our hands touched and I looked in her eyes, and saw Christ in her face.She had nothing left...she had shared it all." Good fruit - sharing our material supplies with those who have none.

      It was a privilege for me this past week to deliver the Christmas baskets made up by our WWAM ladies for half a dozen households who could especially appreciate them. One gentleman in particular seemed totally surprise to receive such a beautifully done-up basket full of good things. He said with feeling, "Nobody has ever done anything like this for me before." I was blessed to pass on a blessing on your behalf - tangible kindness.

      In vv 12-14, John addresses a couple of groups in that society who were notorious for abusing their power. Tax collectors were viewed as outcasts, scum, because they gathered funds for the despised Roman occupiers, often taking extravagant cuts for themselves in the process. John told them, "Don't collect any more than you are required to": in other words, show restraint, don't abuse the privilege the law grants you. The soldiers who came may have been Jews serving in the Temple guard or Herod's court. People resented the times soldiers "commandeered" whatever they needed. John told them not to extort money or accuse people falsely (probably in hopes of obtaining bribes), but to be content with their pay.

      Since the beginning of December, two former Bosnian Serb army commanders have been convicted by the war crimes tribunal at The Hague for their actions in 1995. Over 7000 Muslim men and boys were executed in the worst mass killings of civilians since the Second World War. Justice is reminding them that merely having power is not permission to use it unreservedly. Even if criminals escape penalty of earthly courts, we will one day have to answer to God for our actions.

      A repentant heart bears fruit in terms of sharing material goods; restraint when entrusted with power; and fidelity when tempted by lust. John didn't just pronounce God's verdict on sin with the lower classes in mind; v19 tells us he also "rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the other evil things he had done". There's a whole TV series wrapped up in these few words, although it's hard to decide if the story of the dynasty of Herod the Great would be classed as a gangster movie or a soap opera. Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, was married to the daughter of the king of Nabatea (to the southeast). His brother Philip lived quietly in Rome, married to Herodias, who was niece to both of them, being a granddaughter of Herod the Great (their father) through another of his 10 wives. It seems that when Antipas was visiting Philip in Rome, an illicit affair developed and Herodias ran off with him. Antipas' wife got wind of this before he returned to Jerusalem, and fled back home to Nabatea. Antipas divorced her, married Herodias his brother's wife, and found himself at war with the Nabateans. Such behaviour scandalized the Jews, and John bravely denounced the lust and infidelity. Herodias didn't like being disgraced in public so had Herod shut John up -- in prison. Rather than acknowledge their sin and put things right, their unrepentant hearts tried vainly to cover it up.

      God calls us to fidelity rather than being driven by lust. Giving in to our hormones can cause havoc and conflict in our lives, as well as separate us by a sin wall from our heavenly Father. CBC news headline this past week: "Men's minds may be so rattled by the sight of a pretty woman that they behave irrationally, Canadian psychologists have shown." (We're talking serious news here -- as if we didn't suspect this already!) In the McMaster university study, men were directed to look at the faces of attractive women on a website, then asked if they would like $19 immediately or wait a while and receive $25. The men tended to go for the immediate reward, whereas when the same experiment was done with women subjects looking at faces of handsome men, they took the sensible option of waiting for the greater amount. The researchers concluded there was something about men's minds seeing pretty members of the opposite sex that led them to act irrationally, preferring short-term gains as animals have been shown to do. So don't fall for Herodias, guys -- you may find yourselves like Herod Antipas, suddenly embroiled in conflict and eventually exiled to a distant land (Spain in his case). A repentant heart equips us to share our material goods not hoard them, to resist abusing power entrusted to us, and to be faithful rather than driven by base physical desire.

Ablaze with the Holy Spirit

John's ethic tended to focus more on outward action, whereas Jesus' teaching emphasized the inner dynamic of a person's heart-relationship with God, the inner person. For all John's radicalness in speaking out against sin, by common folk or kings, he was still very much law-based; for Jesus, righteous actions flowed out of a renewed heart, a response to grace rather than motivated by fear of law-based punishment. Yet even John acknowledged the Messiah's ministry would be different from his. In Luke 3:16 he said, "I baptize you with water.But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

      As a prophet, John had insight into God's plan as predicted by Ezekiel (36:26f): "I will give you a new heart and give you a heart of flesh.And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees..." Or as Joel had foretold, as quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost: "I will pour out my Spirit on all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions." (Joel 2:28) Jesus came so God could do a miracle in our life, whereby we trust in Him and receive His Holy Spirit, giving us communication and oneness with the Almighty. The Spirit comes with power to help us resist what's wrong, putting God's desires at our very core so we want what's pleasing to Him. Then living becomes not a matter of "shoulds" and "oughts" but a willing choice to follow the good path the Father shows us. A responsive, alive, pulsing heart to have compassion for the hungry person, so of course we'll share our substance with them. A sensitive conscience so we'll be instantly alert to any shady dealings with which we might be confronted in our work life. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." (2Cor.3:17) Yet this is not a freedom to use to indulge the sinful nature, but to serve one another in love. (Gal.5:13) Christ's Kingdom is not about petty rules of eating and drinking, specific do's and don'ts, but "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom.14:17) - the intangible attitude and presence of Christ in our life that sets us aglow and keeps us alight for Him even through troubles.

      Sharlene and Clarence Kruschel have been through the fire of testing this year - literally. They found material treasures can be very fleeting. They live and attend church in Kelowna BC; Clarence is a house-administrator and Sharlene a personal banker. On Aug.21 at 6:30 pm they were ordered to evacuate their dream home due to a forest fire that was raging nearby. The home had been built just 2 years previously, out of supposedly fire-proof material. That night, it burned to the ground. Living Light News reports that like many others, their loss was substantial, yet their response to it was unique. Granted, there were weeks flooded with tears and questioning, but as Sharlene puts it, "The losses...are only material. People everywhere have greater losses all the time: relationships, spouse, children, health, and employment. We have our faith to carry us through."

      She adds, "This chasing after things is so unfulfilling, and it doesn't last. It can all be gone in a moment, even when you least expect it." Despite the fact that they're still living out of their suitcases, the Kruschels hold on to the fact that God is looking after them. Sharlene says, "This assurance gives us peace, even though we're in turmoil.After all, everything on earth is just 'stuff'...Peace doesn't mean everything's going to be rosy.I know I have a home in heaven, and that's what matters."

      Fire is coming our way -- it can be the fire of judgment and wrath, if all our life is just chaff; or it can be the fire of God's Holy Spirit, making His home within us when we really repent. From this pouring out of the Lord's own Spirit inside comes fruit that will outlast any earthly fire, fruit that touches and blesses other lives too. Let's pray.