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What are We Supposed to Do?
SCRIPTURE TEXT:
LUKE 3:1-11
There
are many important lessons which we can draw from this scripture text. However,
I shall just focus on three aspects of the message of John the Baptist.
Hopefully/ it will lead us to ask ourselves, ''What are we supposed to
do?"
This is
an urgent question for all of us whether we live in the Third World or the First
World, just as it certainly was for those living in the desert as well as those
living in
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first, we would want to repent of our sins;
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secondly, we would want to bear good fruits; and,
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thirdly, we would want to share our resources with others.
I am
sure we are quite familiar with the personality of John the Baptist. He was the
one who went throughout the whole territory of the river
Turn away from your
sins and be baptized, and God will forgive your sins (v. 3).
He was
so strongly convinced of this message that he went out into the desert shouting, "Prepare a road for
the Lord..." (Mt 3:3). John also announced to the people, "The man
who will come after me is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to
bend down and untie his sandals. I baptize you with water,
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but he will baptize
you with the Holy Spirit" (Mark 1:7-8). In modem terms, we might say that John
took on the role of an advocate, mediating between Jesus and the people.
We Would Want to
Repent of Our Sins
During
the time John was preaching in the desert, the crowds of people (ochlos in
Greek) were living under tremendous suppression by the colonial ruler, Herod
Antipas. You may remember the fatal confrontation between Herod and John the
Baptist. John reprimanded Herod for being involved with his brother's wife, Herodias, and for doing many other evil things. As a
result, Herod put John in prison (Luke 3:19-20). Herod was engaged in sinful
activities while John was consistently preaching to the ochlos the
message of repentance (metanoia in Greek).
John's
confrontation with Herod ultimately led to his death as Herod ordered that John
be beheaded. John the Baptist was not concerned about his own social security,
however. He was only concerned that people should take their lives more
seriously by repenting of their sinfulness.
We are
told that many people from the province ofjudea and
the city of
Metanoia, repentance, means more than regretting
one's past wrong action or thought, one's misdoing or undoing. It has a deeper
sense which implies transforming one's mind and heart. I believe this is what
Paul means when he appeals to the church in
To
repent is to accept the love of God because of God's great mercy shown through
Jesus Christ. It is a response to God's call through Jesus Christ to
"repent for the
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Our repentance is an act of grateful response
to God's love. Our response requires that we turn away from the perversity
which exists within ourselves and in our society, our world. Our response
requires that we turn towards living and working for justice, peace and righteousness
for ourselves and for our neighbors. In this regard, repentance is not just a
single decisive act but an ongoing conscious response to live life according to
the will of God.
The
genuineness of our repentance is demonstrated by the actual changes that occur
in our actions, our thoughts and our feelings. This is possible only through
self-critical reflection and evaluation of our own lives in the light of the
Scripture, through honest confession of our sins and through the ability to
accept forgiveness and to forgive.
We Would Want to
Bear Good Fruits
True
repentance will lead us to bear good fruits. Our faith and our words will be
realized in practical deeds. This would be the true character of a newly born
being. According to Paul, we are supposed to be bearers of the fruits of the
Spirit which produces "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, humility and self-control" (Gal 5:22-23).
The
teaching is clear enough for us to understand. Even though it is difficult to
completely fulfill this ideal of being a bearer of good fruits, we should not
be discouraged. What is more important is that we seriously desire and try to
live in obedience to God as much as we can.
As John
the Baptist exhorted, "Do those things that will show that you have turned
from your sins" (v. 8). What is meant here is that if we say we have
repented, then we must be able to show it in our lives. Otherwise, there are
serious consequences. He warns the people that if they take their
accountability to God and others too lightly, "the axe is ready to cut
down the trees at the roots; every tree that does not bear good fruit will be
cut down and thrown into the fire" (v. 9). Our genuine repentance will be
seen in our transformed lives as new people in Christ. Unless we detach
ourselves from our worldly values and lifestyles, we will be 'cut off' or
alienated from God.
The
modem lifestyle constantly portrays good looks and appearances as important and
necessary. All kinds of beautiful
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clothes, decorations
and offers of special entertainment are promoted as necessary. We might confuse
these images of 'goodness' as bearing good fruits. But, in fact, these images
are false and useless for the well-being of the individual as well as for the
welfare of all people.
In
desperation, the people asked John the Baptist, "What are we supposed to
do then?" (v. 10). We too need to ask ourselves the same question.
John
the Baptist answered them, "Whoever has two shirts must give one to the
person who has none, and whoever has food must share it" (v. 11). John's
reply clearly tells us that we need to be concerned about the well-being of
each person in our society today. To be bearers of good fruits is to support
all kinds of humanitarian work which serves to build a better society for all
people.
Jesus
also taught and lived out this concern in his own life. At the very start of
his ministry, Jesus himself declared that God has chosen him to "bring
good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of
sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed..." (Luke 4:18). He had come
to "announce that the time has come when the Lord will save the
people."
Our
question—What are we supposed to do?—will lead us to the same answer: We have
to share our resources with others.
We Would Want to
Share our Resources with Others
On
television, we often hear news and see images of people struggling to live
without the basic necessities of life, such as food and clothes, water and
housing. Can we let the struggles of these people bypass us? The cries of many
other deprived and suffering people are everywhere in the midst of us:
- all
peoples fighting for human dignity;
-
peasants and farmers fighting for their land rights;
-
indigenous people fighting to preserve their culture and identity;
- women
fighting for recognition as people created in the image of God;
- the
differently-abled people fighting for the
installation of public facilities and job opportunities;
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- factory workers and laborers fighting for just wages
and safe working environments;
- all peoples fighting
for the right to democratic
participation in decision-making bodies;
-
students and intellectuals fighting for
the freedom of thought and speech;
- people fighting against unlawful detention for
their religious and political beliefs;
- migrant workers fighting against exploitation
and abuse;
- people fighting against discrimination based
on sex, race, color and creed.
All of
these issues which surround us daily are a result of the unequal distribution
of wealth and power and privilege caused by the control of elitist powers. The
majority of the population of the world are crying for food and shelter and a
host of other basic human rights.
These are
the people with whom we have to share our resources in order that they might
live securely in dignity as human beings, as people created in the image
of God. The task is yours and mine.
Do you
remember what Jesus said to the rich man who asked him, "What must I do to
receive eternal life?" Jesus said, "...Sell all that you have and
give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and
follow me" (Luke 18:22).
This is
a concrete example of what we are supposed to do as followers of Jesus Christ.
Let us
remember with grateful hearts how Christ was born to save us from our sins. If
we have not put away our old mind, let us repent and put on the new mind that
is ours in Jesus Christ. Let us bear good fruits. If we have lived according to
the way of the world, let us repent and live according to the way of the