Bearing Fruit, Burning Chaff (Matthew 3)
Introduction
Hello, and welcome to the Will Preach for Food podcast. I’m Doug, a pastor here at Faith Lutheran Church, based out of Shelton, Washington, a congregation of the ELCA. Faith is learning how to be a welcoming community, energized by God’s amazing love. We want to make Christ known in the world, we want to grow closer to and more like Jesus. We want to joyfully serve our neighbors, each other, and the whole world. You can learn more about Faith at our website, www.faithshelton.org. This is the Second Sunday in Advent. Thanks for listening.
Prepare ye the way of the Lord! In today’s Bible reading from Matthew 3, we read about a rock star preacher named John the Baptist. Long hair. Cool clothes. Trendy diet. Outdoor venue. Standing Room Only. John the Baptist is a pivotal character in the Bible story, and one whose example and message we consider every year around this time, at least, those of us who observe the season of Advent in the church calendar. We are getting ready, after all. Ready for Christmas. Ready for Christ to come into our hearts. Ready for Christ to come again.
Today’s message reminds us that the coming of the kingdom of God is good news for everyone. That the Holy Spirit gathers and unites us in the waters of Baptism. And John the Baptist issues the challenge to bear good fruit AND burn the chaff. Let’s unpack all that as we open our Bibles to Matthew 3:1-12.
Matthew 3:1-12
In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”
4 John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 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.
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
This is the word of God. Sisters and brothers, grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
John, the Rock Star
Let’s start with John himself. We know from other parts of the Bible that John is Jesus’ cousin, about 6 months older. His dad is Zechariah, a priest, which makes John the Baptist a Pastor’s Kid.
The fact that he wears a camel hair shirt is meant to connect him to an Old Testament prophet named Elijah. Elijah was maybe most famous for a showdown on Mt Carmel, a story recorded in 1 Kings 19, where he calls for the people to get off the fence when it comes to faith: either trust Yahweh God or don’t! Another prophet, Malachi, claimed that it would be a preacher like Elijah whom God would send to get people ready for the coming Messiah.
He also eats locusts and honey. This morning I was told that he probably ate pods from the locust tree, not the bug variety, but the message is the same: he was living off the land, and off the grid. That meant he was probably associated with a Jewish religious denomination known as the Essenes. Back in those days there were three main branches of the Jewish faith.
· The Sadducees were the most secular of the three, educated, wealthy. They were pragmatists. They had done their best to work with the Roman Empire to make sure that there would even BE a Jewish nation under Rome. Some would call them collaborators, sell outs to the Roman Empire.
· The Pharisees—you’ve maybe heard of them—they embraced the “otherness” of being Jewish. They were all about preserving Jewish culture, especially the purity practices, right doctrine, right actions. Some would call them holier than thou, sanctimonious, even racist.
· And then there were the Essenes. They wanted nothing to do with Rome OR Jerusalem. It was all corrupt. They rejected the materialism and hypocrisy of the day, moved out into the wilderness, lived off the grid and off the land. Some would call them bug eating hippies.
John, the pastor’s kid, knew the Sadducees from Jerusalem. He knew the Pharisees from the small towns and synagogues of Galilee. And he knows the Essenes, too. One of the tricks he picked up from the Essenes was water baptism. It was a ceremonial washing, a way to wash the grime of the Rome, the hypocrisy of Jerusalem. It symbolized rededication, death to an old way of life. Rebirth in a new way.
The Kingdom of God
So here’s John the Baptist, looking the part, drawing the crowds, baptizing in the Jordan, announcing the coming of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is nigh, at hand, close enough to touch. You can taste it! The kingdom of heaven is here. And this is GOOD NEWS. It was good news then, and good news now. The “root of Jesse”—a poetic way of talking about descendants of King David (whose dad was Jesse—get it?) God would send a messiah, a new king, and that king would establish world peace. Here’s how the prophet Isaiah describes God’s good vision, God’s preferred future:
Isaiah 11:6-10
The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.
7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den,
and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.
Like I said last week. It is a vision of world peace, reconciliation of the nations. The whole earth filled with the knowledge of YHWH. It is a vision of safety. Prey and predator seem to work out some kind of arrangement. And by extension, the vision includes warring factions finding harmony—Romans and Jews, Pharisees and Saducees. Heck, even Lutherans and Baptists!
Advent is good news, everyone. God’s kingdom is near. Jesus has come. He is coming soon. We are living in a now/not yet reality. We are people of Faith. The Bible points to God’s reign. John announces it. The Spirit brings it. Jesus fulfills it. And now we, guided by Scripture, filled with the Spirit, inspired by Jesus, we anticipate his kingdom by announcing it and living it “on earth, as it is in heaven.”
The Holy Spirit
The second thing we see here on the banks of the Jordan is the bringing together of all the people. It is a glimpse of the work of the Holy Spirit to bring unity in the waters of Baptism. We teach today how the Holy Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the church. Isaiah says that this spirit of YHWH is a spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and might, knowledge and reverent fear, joy in God’s presence. And just as the Spirit gathered people together to hear John and be baptized, to this day, Baptism is a sign of the unity we all have in the Spirit. The one who unites us is greater than anything that might divide us. Ephesians 4:4-6 says that
4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Fruit in keeping with repentance
Now, in verse seven, it says that John recognizes some in the crowd as Sadducees and Pharisees. And he greets them by calling them a “brood of vipers.” Now, as a pastor, I’m supposed to be able to give this some kind of redeemable explanation, but, to be honest, I got nothing. At best, maybe these were friends, old classmates, and his greeting is a term of endearment—here there, you old son of a gun!
Or, maybe he is just being rude. But in the context of the unity of the Spirit and the certainty of God’s kingdom, John then puts a mirror in the faces of his “colleagues,” and challenges them to “bear fruit worthy of/ in keeping with repentance.” The Holy Spirit’s gifts and marks are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. Repentance is alignment, making your actions align with God’s priorities and vision.
That also means getting rid of some old baggage and behaviors. Either they don’t align with God’s purposes, or, in many cases, have simply outgrown or outlived their purpose. The ax is at the root of the tree, he tells them. Trees in your garden that used to bear fruit are now overgrown, diseased, or rotting. Consider what is deadwood in your lives, John says. Prune it. Cut it down. Stack it to use it for firewood.
Then he doubles down with a similar metaphor: burn the chaff, he says. Identify the old husks and stalks that once were vital for the growth of the wheat, but is now dried up, useless, and a fire hazard. The more fruitful your life has been, the more chaff you accumulate. Chaff is actually a sign of a healthy, well lived life. But the time comes when you just need to sweep out the barn, clear out the chaff, and burn it.
He is not saying here anything about bad people burning in hell. Don’t try to dumb down or spiritualize what he is saying. He is not saying that certain people are chaff that Jesus wants to burn in hell. He’s saying that some of the work of readying our hearts and lives for Christ’s rule is to clean house, sweep out the barn, and build a fire. A baptism of Spirit to equip, unite, bless, and heal. A baptism of fire to clean house and burn the chaff.
Electric Typewriters
Think about it this way. How many of you have ever used a typewriter? How many of you used to own one? How many of you still own one? Why? It was a great tool, impressive technology back in the day, but we don’t use them anymore. What are other “electric typewriters” in our lives, or in this congregation? I’m talking about behaviors, attitudes, and even church ministries that once served such a good purpose, but has now become broken, obsolete, outdated, or no longer serve their purpose.
Now I type on a laptop, print on a wireless printer, upload a recording to a podcast, livestream worship on Facebook using a Mevo camera and a tablet. And I also know that five or ten or twenty years from now, these technologies will be as antiquated as a typewriter, overhead projector, or Polaroid camera.
Lots of things are that way. What worked 30 years ago is out of date today. What mattered back then doesn’t matter so much now. And those of us who practice the discipline of the church calendar are reminded every year to repent, take a hard look at our spiritual house, and be willing to add to the woodpile, sweep out the barn, and take a load to the dump. So that nothing can hinder or get in the way of the fruit of the Spirit, the expressions of the kingdom of God sprouting up all around us.
Sufficed to say, Faith will once again in 2023 be called and compelled to consider how we will bear fruit, and what needs to be cleared out, cut down, swept away, and properly disposed of. Not people. Never people. But we will be having “emotionally healthy” conversations about our worship life together. Outreach. Discipleship. Staffing priorities. Paying for a new roof. You know, all that fun stuff.
Application
1. Advent means Hope for the World: Wolves and lambs, peace on earth, goodwill to all.
2. One (in) Baptism: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” What (who) unites us is stronger than that which divides us.
3. Cleaning house: To identify and throw out our Electric Typewriters.
4. Bearing Fruit of the Spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.
Thanks for listening, folks. To learn more about Faith, go to our website, www.faithshelton.org. While you are there, like us, subscribe, donate, or sign-up for our newsletter. You can subscribe to this podcast on most podcast platforms, including Spotify, Apple, and Google. Thank you, Chas and Nadia, for your production and tech support for this podcast.