Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. – Romans 12: 12

In the 12th chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he gives the Roman Christians encouragement and directions for living out the Christian faith.  Paul is no pollyanna, ignoring the difficulties of life and the challenges of living as disciples of Jesus Christ.  He knows first hand the power of faith in Jesus Christ to overcome and face the pain and suffering of persecutions and the struggles of following his Lord and Savior.  There are internal and external threats and temptations to sin and commit evil.  There are constant temptations to fall away, to not use one’s God-given gifts for the building up of the church or in service toward others, and to give in to pride and anger.

Looking for hope in anxious times

In the midst of Advent, the preparation and waiting for the celebration of Christ’s mass, comes the haggard, wild figure of John the Baptist.  Not preparing the way for a baby, but for an unknown adult, a yet to be revealed, expected Messiah.  The Anointed One of God, bringing judgment, an ax to cut down trees that do not bear fruit, a winnowing fork to clear the wheat from the chaff, and then burn the chaff with unquenchable fire!  Oh, my!  He’s no jolly old St. Nick.

John’s urgent message, his divine prescription to prepare for the coming Messiah is for us to REPENT and BEAR FRUIT worthy of repentance.  But like the Sadducees and the Pharisees of long ago, we have half-hearted, impure intentions, hoping that some sort of superficial sign of repentance and change will be enough.  We want change and we want it now, but only if others have to bear the burden and the cost instead of us, because we don’t want to be the ones who have to change.  We give lip service to faithful stewardship, discipleship, and service, and act surprised when there isn’t enough money or enough people to support and equip the ministries and mission of the church.  It isn’t good enough that our children and kids serve and learn and grow in knowledge and understanding in faith in God.  We’re the ones who need to REPENT (change our way of thinking=growing in our knowledge of God and the Word) and BEAR FRUIT (be a blessing to others=serve, lead, help)!  Unfortunately for we are a sneaky brood of vipers, avoiding the only real change and deep change that will do the job.

We do need to cut down and cut out those things in our lives that keep us from growing in our relationship with God.  Keep us from living fruitful lives of blessing, grace, love, and forgiveness for the sake of our neighbors and the world.  We do need to get beyond the chaff, the outward image, the “flesh” and the trappings of the world; we need a spiritual winnowing fork to remove the thin facade of chaff that hides our true selves.  The “Chaff” is not our true self, it is the external stuff that matters to us but not to God.  It is the wheat, the seed, the kernel underneath that is the most important to God, because that is our true self that God loves and cares about.

John the Baptist does point us to hope, by changing our thinking about what is really important and matters and lasts, and then live our lives accordingly, which results in bearing fruit, not for ourselves, but for others.  Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is coming near!  Hope is on the way!