I am baptizing you with water
but one mightier than I is coming.
Third Sunday of Advent
December 16, 2018
Luke 3:10-18
On the Third Sunday of Advent, next week, John is not shouting rebukes trying to reduce the crowd to a mob of fear. His message is one of social responsibility, and they heard it. He spoke to the people of his age and the inequities of his time. Acts of Justice are what he asks of the people who come for baptism. Repentance for the baptized means doing justice. Making the way for God to be among us is a matter of justice. John speaks to people where they are. To tax collects he speaks of the justice they can do. To soldiers he speaks of the justice they can do, and there were certainly others from every station in life. What we probably see here in Luke’s Gospel is that soldiers and tax collectors had already found a place within the early Christian community. What John ultimately says to us is that we shall see the salvation of our God when people who have give, not because it’s Christmas, but because it is “THE WAY.” Give because it is Just, because it is Right, and because it is our duty. The Justice John speaks of does not come from left-overs, spare change, nor from guilt; it comes from repentance and a change in life, a change in values, and a change in focus. It is rooted in a spirituality that is free of fear and anxiety, free of selfishness and guilt. It is a spirituality alive with love and gratitude, and it is the only possible way for us to be ready for the coming of our God.
Fr. Tom Boyer