Bearing Fruit of Advent Hope
Commentary
How many frustrated preachers have wished in the back of their minds that they could begin a sermon with John the Baptist’s words, “You brood of vipers!” (37). Before anyone jumps the gun on this, consider the end of Luke 3, “he [King Herod] shut up John in prison (3:20). In anxious times, weighing one’s words carefully when emotions run rampant, and tempers are short is good wisdom. John’s desired outcome was for people of faith to bear advent fruit, not simply fly off the handle at their poor judgement. This is difficult in changing times where people are anxious about their future and how AI (Artificial Intelligence) makes both positive and threatening changes in any person’s life. All three of today’s texts address possible drastic changes in biblical times as well. How does one prepare and remain hopeful amidst tectonic shifts which result in many emotional roller coasters in life? What might be a modern example?
An accomplished engineer with many years of service to the company sits in his living room at what he thought to be a casual Zoom Friday afternoon business meeting. He is stunned as he is told he is permanently laid off or early retired. His computer is work badge is deactivated, as his email address is deleted. His personal belongings from his desk will be deposited outside the company parking lot on Monday morning. He is told he can take an annual severance package and leave quietly or if he resists, and loses, he will lose a year’s pay and medical benefits. All of this occurs on Zoom as the engineer is sitting in his living room. The managers did not even have the courage to talk to him face-to-face in person.
All three of today’s texts address such anxious times today as they did in the biblical authors’ times of anxiety. John the Baptist’s challenge to “bear fruit that befit repentance, (Luke 3:8) might be on thread that ties all of today’s text together. This points to the possibility of hope, regardless of one’s life circumstances.
Zephaniah is a warning to Judah that their bad choices will result in God’s wrath and judgement as the Assyrian empire fades, and Babylon is on the horizon. Paul in Philippians must deal with Roman hegemony yet rejoice in Christ. John the Baptist in Luke acknowledges a corrupt people and ruler, but looks toward hope and new life of bearing fruits.
Regardless of how dark times get for any person or group, all three Advent texts today point to some form of hope from God the creator. There are opportunities to bear fruit of Advent hope in repentance.
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Imagine a close family member or friend who has made many poor choices in their life and are now suffering the negative consequences of these decisions. This could be in the areas of dropping out of school, getting involved with the wrong crowd of people which led to crime and being stuck in the court system or having a poor employment record due to bad work performance. In this season of hope, Zephaniah is precisely in this same position as King Manasa and his followers of idol worship have led Judah down a dangerous path of destruction. The prophet speaks similar warnings as that of Jeremiah. God’s people will suffer. Yet today’s text offers good news of hope and restoration in later years. There is eventual Advent hope in this book of Zephaniah.
Dated around 640-609 BCE during the reign of Josiah of Judah, the name Zephaniah means “The Lord hid from danger.” The book is divided into three sections: 1) 1:1-2:3, Judgment against creation and God’s people of Judah. 2) 2:4-3:8 Oracles against nations and God’s people. 3) 3:9- 20 (today’s text). Unlike other prophets, Zephaniah depicts the Lord as restorer of Zion, rather than a Davidic king. The book is a collection of speeches or oracles, with the common theme of “The Day of the Lord.” Historically, a historical cross reference to this prophecy is in 2 Kings 21-23.
The main issues the prophet addresses are apostasy, corruption, and international abuses by Assyrian rulers. The Day of the Lord will be both judgment against those who neglect God’s creation and the sanctity of the temple, as well as eventual restoration for the remnant of faith. They have remained humble and have awaited God’s purposes to unfold. Such humble patient waiting is one reason why this is place in the season of Advent, a season of humble watchful awaiting of God’s purposes to be fully revealed.
The temple is viewed as God’s cosmic center in Zephaniah. It is both subject to prophetic critique as well as restoration. One Advent preaching idea might be does a community of faith revisit the purposes of their church building existing in this setting? For example, a struggling mainline church decides to share its building with another congregation which is meeting in a storefront building, which needs repairing. Two communities of faith gathered in one older, traditional building might be one way of transforming their place of worship in this season that anticipated new life of the Christmas season.
The community of faith recognizes their vocation to serve God amidst respecting creation. They are not to make of objects of creation into idols, which was the apostasy of the Assyrian religions of the time. Rather they are to embrace the inherent value of each human being while worshipping God as their security, identify and source of transformational growth. They are to be a people who seek the health and welfare of other people.
The book of Deuteronomy and following of the basic ten commandments (Deuteronomy 5:6-21) informs the ethics of both the prophet Zephaniah and reforms of King Josiah. The Day of the Lord can also be a day of rejoicing rather than judgement despite all of lapses in judgement which led to darkness of both Judah and wider creation.
The good news of the text includes that 1) God is capable of destroying enemies (3:15); 2) being as a warrior who delivers victory against those who oppose God (3:17); 3) gathers people of faith and outcasts back to a desirable homecoming, as well as possibly restoring fortunes. (3:19-20).
One theme I might be tempted to pursue is “more than we deserve.” The audience in Zephaniah have all faltered in doing God’s will. The Day of the Lord could be tragic. Nevertheless, Zephaniah promises that those who reorient their lives towards God (cross reference Luke 3:7-18 text of John the Baptist), live the fruits of the faith will not dread the “Day of the Lord.” A three-point sermon might be: 1) Regrets 2) Reorient 3) Restoration. God meets people in their bad decisions (regrets); calls them to repent or reorient (Luke 3:7-18). text also) and promises restoration.
This text is good news for people who see loved ones suffering the consequences of their bad choices in life. Zephaniah holds out hope that if they reorient their lives toward the God of Israel (specifically Deuteronomic wisdom such as the ten commandments), their enemies will be defeated. They will realize new life in restoration amidst God’s faithful, patient remnant of Temple worshippers. [Sources: Gaventa, Beverly, and David Peterson, Editors The New Interpreter’s Bible: One Volume Commentary, (Nashville, TN; Abingdon Press, 2010); Sakenfeld, Katerine, Editor, The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Volume 3, (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2009), Timmons, Daniels C, Old Testament Theology: The Theology of the Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2024)].
Philippians 4:4-7
Have you ever wondered how some biblical writers envisioned what hell or the hades place of torment and punishment to be like? In her book, God’s Ghostwriters, Candida Moss argues that scribal slaves were instrumental in shaping certain ways authors who dictated ideas to them within the context of living under the yoke of the Roman empire. They were the among the first and most influential interpreters of Christan scripture (Moss, 138-139). Paul’s letter such as Philippians is one such example. Imprisonment for lawbreakers in the Roman penal system reflects what hell is for these copyists. In the case of Paul’s imprisonment, Roman jails were a dystopian degrading existence within the darkest features of the enslaved lawbreaker’s life setting. Being shackled in a cell with filth of excrement, odors of wild animals in adjoining cages as well as threat of being sentenced to working in underground mines—all carved the imagination of copyists who assisted Paul in his dictation of the epistles.
In the latter example, the lower underground level of working in the dark mines accelerated the smell of sulfuric fumes, limits of light and oxygen. These are reasons for the terror for claustrophobia the further deeper levels underground one goes in order to dig for copper and marble, with the perpetual fear of possible cave-ins. Such is the fate of many enslaved copyists of the time edited into their writings of damnation into the underworld, which may have later shaped works such as Dante’s Inferno writings (Moss, 243-252). Moss suggests that these same enslaved Christian copyists believed that Roman torments, of foul stench dungeons imposed by the imperial incarceration system does not insulate them from the divine justice being applied by the God of the New Testament for their disobedience to God in this life (Moss, 252-253).
So one is shocked at the opening phrase in today’s epistle lesson, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice” (4:7) is an example of a believer who responds to depredating circumstances, with the support of a congregation Philippi (doing it right)! Paul is modelling how forbearance and patience are lived out. He has faith that the “Lord is at hand.” (4:5).
If anybody has a reason to be anxious about the future, it is Paul. Moss observed typically, copyists might sit outside the window of Paul’s dark, foul smelling cell taking dictation from the apostle. The church in this case did bring him food, wash him up and attended to any needs he had in this state of confinement. These are fruits of Advent hope. Do we have anybody in our lives who are very anxious about their future? This is the season to bear fruits of repentance in Advent to those in anxious times such as the employee in the opening illustration losing a good paying job.
One possible preaching path is to explore the possibility that this season of Advent is quite uncomfortable for some people in the congregation. It could be a financial challenge, tense family situation or declining health condition. Paul is an example of such discomfort in otherwise joyous times for many people during this pre-Christmas season.
Philippians 4:6-7 are worth writing down and possible memorizing in the event that unforeseen events especially in inclement weather situations intrude upon the Christian’s life. “Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Other observations about this text incudes the word “rejoice” might be also translated as, “forbearance, gentleness and kindness.” This is a season to seek amicable solutions to any possible conflicts in area of one’s life. The assurance is that is that the Lord is with us (Immanuel).
Another preaching path might be how to balance the anxiety which comes into our daily lives in such holiday seasons of high expectations and simply letting it go in resolving we need to hand such worries over to God (above cited text 4:6-7). How does one find the peace of God in anxious times might be another sermon path.
Alternative Paths
Reading the text in context, the previous verses commend two female church leaders Eudoia and Synteche for their efforts in as fellow laborers with Paul. This is indeed a (female) team effort as one might frame ministry in the modern terms. What sort of team is needed for the local congregation to carry on ministry in difficult times? (4:2-3).
Immediately after this text, Paul list those traits that might be viewed as fruits of the Spirit which John the Baptism exhorts in the gospel lesson. Whatever is honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent, 0r worth of praise might be thought about as doing life giving Christian discipleship in this season (4:8). Any two or three of these traits might be a possible two- or three-point sermon path, as to why Paul is rejoicing in the text for the day. [Sources: Krentz, Edgar, and John Koenig, and Donald H. Juel, Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: Galatians Philippians, Philemon, and I Thessalonians, (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 1985); Moss, Candida, God’s Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Making of Bible, (New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 2024)].
Luke 3:7-18
John the Baptist’s words, “You brood of vipers!” might have been lingering in the back of the mind of Viola Martin. She is a cynical widowed letter carrier who lives in assisted living who holds both good and bad memories of mail delivery during holidays in the book entitled, The Christmas Letter. Jimmy, her twelve-year-old spirited grandson has taken to visiting her after school every day, regardless of whether she is in a bad or good mood. Halloween is one holiday Viola dreads because it seems to be focused on only children who wear costumes and seek out candy treats. She enjoys Valentine’s Day instead, because it is a time for all people to care for one another. Jimmy developed an idea for an alternative to Halloween celebrations. Jimmy bought cinnamon flavored heart shaped candies and brought them to Viola’s room. They both develop an idea to buy more cinnamon candy heart shaped candies to give to all of the residents of the assisted living center. They named this day as “Hallow Tween.” It was received with joyful surprise and fond memories of all of the residents whose lives are short lived in this assisted living home. This might be a modern example of bearing the fruits of hope as well as living out one’s baptism in the Spirit in the Luke 3 lesson today. (Prochaska, 44-50).
One quick preaching path regarding this text is: What? So What? Now What? The “what” is prophet the people have been waiting or since Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3:1-4) has arrived in John the Baptist. “So What,” is the message that being a child of Abraham is not enough if one does not bear the fruits of repentance. “Now What,” is be fair in the use of power given to any one person. This includes not abusing others for selfish gain but live as people of faith who have repented of former ways of sharing clothing, food collecting taxes and not committing violence. Justice, charity and generosity all characterize the fruits of repentance in this text (Chen, 50). Luke 3:10-14 is unique in providing specific details regarding caring acts of fairness and kindness as concrete examples of fruits of forgiveness (Aland, 14-15, Chen 50).
Breaking the text into more detail, the “viper” John accuses people in the crowd of being is a poisonous snake which poisons their victims with venom. This poses danger, evil, and threats to other people. These are traits of people who claim to be children of Abraham, and do not bear fruits of repentance.
One might imagine certain church attendees who do not walk the talk of their Christian faith in daily life, thus poisoning the witness of the community of faith. John promises punishment to such evil doers (Malachi 3:13-18, Gadenz, 85). The prophet will both inspire and threaten hearers of such a message. Herold would have John arrested later in Luke 3: 19-20, because John criticized the monarch’s unethical marriage arrangements. Let any preacher be aware of similar power brokers in any audience who hears the “Brood of vipers!” accusation.
Other important observations about this text are that John is not telling people to quit their vocations, way of living or work for the government (tax collectors). Rather, John calls for simple acts of fairness, sharing, kindness and being amicable in disputed situations rather than exercising violence.
For example, a power person in an organization has major disagreements with a subordinate or worker. Rather than pulling rank and threatening to fire the individual, find a way to create an amicable solution, if possible, a “win-win” outcome.
Many churches sponsor clothing drives for children during the holidays as well as donation to local clothing and food pantries. John is not asking anybody to starve or give up their family meal for the needy, only to remember them with donations and possible considering the idea that, “There but for the grace of God go I.” This is very appropriate for this season of the year. And yes, denominations do have such ministries that might be considered for congregations to consider in developing their annual budgets.
The next section of the text addressed the nature of John and Jesus’ baptism. Another detail of this text is Luke 3:16, “but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am unworthy to untie.” All four gospels have a version of this statement (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1: 7 and John 1:27, Aland, 15). This eliminates any speculation that John is the Messiah. Was there a crossover of John’s disciples to follow Jesus can be found in John 1:37? All four gospels affirm that Jesus’ baptism is that of the Holy Spirit, whereas John’s was one of repentance. Space does not permit in this article as to whether to follow a hypothesis that there were two groups of John’s and Jesus’ disciples conducting ministry at the same time.
One path to explore is Jesus’ baptism is of the Holy Spirit, not simply a binary belief in God and Jesus, but points to a triune Godhead. The entire Book of Acts might be a place to pursue Luke’s understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit. Also, Luke’s sermon on the plain is a manual of what Luke considers faithful discipleship (Luke 6:20-38). Luke’s mission statement is Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.” This universal outlook is one parallel with the Zephaniah lesson applying God’s wrath and blessings on both the community of faith and universally.
The winnowing fork portion of the text is a metaphor of future judgement allusions (Malachi 3:1-3) regarding separation the wicked from the righteous people in both the community of faith and universally. This metaphor has Hebrew Bible textual roots for monarchs who also judge righteous and wicked people. Hence, there remains accountability to the Lord God (Proverbs 20: 8; Isaiah 41:16; Jeremiah 15:7; 51:2. Chen 52). In Luke 3:18, the text says this is “good news.” Might this suggest there is a “law and gospel” dimension of the text as Martin Luther often read biblical texts? [Sources: Aland, Kurt, Synopsis of the Four Gospels, 4th/5th edition, Stuttgart, Germany, United Bible Societies, 1982); Chen, Diane G., New Covenant Commentary Series: Luke, Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, Luke, 2017); Gadenz, Pablo T., The Gospel of Luke, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018); Prochaska, Kevin, The Christmas Letter, Mobile, AL: Evergreen Press, 2006) Tiede David L., Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament, Luke, Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Press,1988)].
Application
One unifying theme of all these texts is how to carry the upbeat Christmas spirit beyond the Sundays of Advent and Christmas. Which sorts of gifts can also be gifts that keep on giving in a positive way? Examples include a church ladies’ group who anonymously donates winter coats for needy children in the community. One common theme for later in the year might be “Christmas in July” for those who suffer the consequences of unpredictable natural disasters as well as lack of home cooling systems. Another sermon path I have applied is to use various feeding texts throughout the year to uplift locations in our country where there are food deserts of community without grocery stores with balanced vegetable, fruits and fresh meat choice’s. Might this fruit of Spirit throughout the year?
Alternative Application
Do people really believe there will be a winnowing fork time of judgment from God? Are most western hemisphere Christians basically unitarians at heart? If so, numerous Hebrew Bible texts have been cited alongside this Luke 3 text. There is no guarantee of a Hallmark storybook ending unless one bears the fruits of repentance.
An accomplished engineer with many years of service to the company sits in his living room at what he thought to be a casual Zoom Friday afternoon business meeting. He is stunned as he is told he is permanently laid off or early retired. His computer is work badge is deactivated, as his email address is deleted. His personal belongings from his desk will be deposited outside the company parking lot on Monday morning. He is told he can take an annual severance package and leave quietly or if he resists, and loses, he will lose a year’s pay and medical benefits. All of this occurs on Zoom as the engineer is sitting in his living room. The managers did not even have the courage to talk to him face-to-face in person.
All three of today’s texts address such anxious times today as they did in the biblical authors’ times of anxiety. John the Baptist’s challenge to “bear fruit that befit repentance, (Luke 3:8) might be on thread that ties all of today’s text together. This points to the possibility of hope, regardless of one’s life circumstances.
Zephaniah is a warning to Judah that their bad choices will result in God’s wrath and judgement as the Assyrian empire fades, and Babylon is on the horizon. Paul in Philippians must deal with Roman hegemony yet rejoice in Christ. John the Baptist in Luke acknowledges a corrupt people and ruler, but looks toward hope and new life of bearing fruits.
Regardless of how dark times get for any person or group, all three Advent texts today point to some form of hope from God the creator. There are opportunities to bear fruit of Advent hope in repentance.
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Imagine a close family member or friend who has made many poor choices in their life and are now suffering the negative consequences of these decisions. This could be in the areas of dropping out of school, getting involved with the wrong crowd of people which led to crime and being stuck in the court system or having a poor employment record due to bad work performance. In this season of hope, Zephaniah is precisely in this same position as King Manasa and his followers of idol worship have led Judah down a dangerous path of destruction. The prophet speaks similar warnings as that of Jeremiah. God’s people will suffer. Yet today’s text offers good news of hope and restoration in later years. There is eventual Advent hope in this book of Zephaniah.
Dated around 640-609 BCE during the reign of Josiah of Judah, the name Zephaniah means “The Lord hid from danger.” The book is divided into three sections: 1) 1:1-2:3, Judgment against creation and God’s people of Judah. 2) 2:4-3:8 Oracles against nations and God’s people. 3) 3:9- 20 (today’s text). Unlike other prophets, Zephaniah depicts the Lord as restorer of Zion, rather than a Davidic king. The book is a collection of speeches or oracles, with the common theme of “The Day of the Lord.” Historically, a historical cross reference to this prophecy is in 2 Kings 21-23.
The main issues the prophet addresses are apostasy, corruption, and international abuses by Assyrian rulers. The Day of the Lord will be both judgment against those who neglect God’s creation and the sanctity of the temple, as well as eventual restoration for the remnant of faith. They have remained humble and have awaited God’s purposes to unfold. Such humble patient waiting is one reason why this is place in the season of Advent, a season of humble watchful awaiting of God’s purposes to be fully revealed.
The temple is viewed as God’s cosmic center in Zephaniah. It is both subject to prophetic critique as well as restoration. One Advent preaching idea might be does a community of faith revisit the purposes of their church building existing in this setting? For example, a struggling mainline church decides to share its building with another congregation which is meeting in a storefront building, which needs repairing. Two communities of faith gathered in one older, traditional building might be one way of transforming their place of worship in this season that anticipated new life of the Christmas season.
The community of faith recognizes their vocation to serve God amidst respecting creation. They are not to make of objects of creation into idols, which was the apostasy of the Assyrian religions of the time. Rather they are to embrace the inherent value of each human being while worshipping God as their security, identify and source of transformational growth. They are to be a people who seek the health and welfare of other people.
The book of Deuteronomy and following of the basic ten commandments (Deuteronomy 5:6-21) informs the ethics of both the prophet Zephaniah and reforms of King Josiah. The Day of the Lord can also be a day of rejoicing rather than judgement despite all of lapses in judgement which led to darkness of both Judah and wider creation.
The good news of the text includes that 1) God is capable of destroying enemies (3:15); 2) being as a warrior who delivers victory against those who oppose God (3:17); 3) gathers people of faith and outcasts back to a desirable homecoming, as well as possibly restoring fortunes. (3:19-20).
One theme I might be tempted to pursue is “more than we deserve.” The audience in Zephaniah have all faltered in doing God’s will. The Day of the Lord could be tragic. Nevertheless, Zephaniah promises that those who reorient their lives towards God (cross reference Luke 3:7-18 text of John the Baptist), live the fruits of the faith will not dread the “Day of the Lord.” A three-point sermon might be: 1) Regrets 2) Reorient 3) Restoration. God meets people in their bad decisions (regrets); calls them to repent or reorient (Luke 3:7-18). text also) and promises restoration.
This text is good news for people who see loved ones suffering the consequences of their bad choices in life. Zephaniah holds out hope that if they reorient their lives toward the God of Israel (specifically Deuteronomic wisdom such as the ten commandments), their enemies will be defeated. They will realize new life in restoration amidst God’s faithful, patient remnant of Temple worshippers. [Sources: Gaventa, Beverly, and David Peterson, Editors The New Interpreter’s Bible: One Volume Commentary, (Nashville, TN; Abingdon Press, 2010); Sakenfeld, Katerine, Editor, The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Volume 3, (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2009), Timmons, Daniels C, Old Testament Theology: The Theology of the Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, (New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2024)].
Philippians 4:4-7
Have you ever wondered how some biblical writers envisioned what hell or the hades place of torment and punishment to be like? In her book, God’s Ghostwriters, Candida Moss argues that scribal slaves were instrumental in shaping certain ways authors who dictated ideas to them within the context of living under the yoke of the Roman empire. They were the among the first and most influential interpreters of Christan scripture (Moss, 138-139). Paul’s letter such as Philippians is one such example. Imprisonment for lawbreakers in the Roman penal system reflects what hell is for these copyists. In the case of Paul’s imprisonment, Roman jails were a dystopian degrading existence within the darkest features of the enslaved lawbreaker’s life setting. Being shackled in a cell with filth of excrement, odors of wild animals in adjoining cages as well as threat of being sentenced to working in underground mines—all carved the imagination of copyists who assisted Paul in his dictation of the epistles.
In the latter example, the lower underground level of working in the dark mines accelerated the smell of sulfuric fumes, limits of light and oxygen. These are reasons for the terror for claustrophobia the further deeper levels underground one goes in order to dig for copper and marble, with the perpetual fear of possible cave-ins. Such is the fate of many enslaved copyists of the time edited into their writings of damnation into the underworld, which may have later shaped works such as Dante’s Inferno writings (Moss, 243-252). Moss suggests that these same enslaved Christian copyists believed that Roman torments, of foul stench dungeons imposed by the imperial incarceration system does not insulate them from the divine justice being applied by the God of the New Testament for their disobedience to God in this life (Moss, 252-253).
So one is shocked at the opening phrase in today’s epistle lesson, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice” (4:7) is an example of a believer who responds to depredating circumstances, with the support of a congregation Philippi (doing it right)! Paul is modelling how forbearance and patience are lived out. He has faith that the “Lord is at hand.” (4:5).
If anybody has a reason to be anxious about the future, it is Paul. Moss observed typically, copyists might sit outside the window of Paul’s dark, foul smelling cell taking dictation from the apostle. The church in this case did bring him food, wash him up and attended to any needs he had in this state of confinement. These are fruits of Advent hope. Do we have anybody in our lives who are very anxious about their future? This is the season to bear fruits of repentance in Advent to those in anxious times such as the employee in the opening illustration losing a good paying job.
One possible preaching path is to explore the possibility that this season of Advent is quite uncomfortable for some people in the congregation. It could be a financial challenge, tense family situation or declining health condition. Paul is an example of such discomfort in otherwise joyous times for many people during this pre-Christmas season.
Philippians 4:6-7 are worth writing down and possible memorizing in the event that unforeseen events especially in inclement weather situations intrude upon the Christian’s life. “Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Other observations about this text incudes the word “rejoice” might be also translated as, “forbearance, gentleness and kindness.” This is a season to seek amicable solutions to any possible conflicts in area of one’s life. The assurance is that is that the Lord is with us (Immanuel).
Another preaching path might be how to balance the anxiety which comes into our daily lives in such holiday seasons of high expectations and simply letting it go in resolving we need to hand such worries over to God (above cited text 4:6-7). How does one find the peace of God in anxious times might be another sermon path.
Alternative Paths
Reading the text in context, the previous verses commend two female church leaders Eudoia and Synteche for their efforts in as fellow laborers with Paul. This is indeed a (female) team effort as one might frame ministry in the modern terms. What sort of team is needed for the local congregation to carry on ministry in difficult times? (4:2-3).
Immediately after this text, Paul list those traits that might be viewed as fruits of the Spirit which John the Baptism exhorts in the gospel lesson. Whatever is honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent, 0r worth of praise might be thought about as doing life giving Christian discipleship in this season (4:8). Any two or three of these traits might be a possible two- or three-point sermon path, as to why Paul is rejoicing in the text for the day. [Sources: Krentz, Edgar, and John Koenig, and Donald H. Juel, Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: Galatians Philippians, Philemon, and I Thessalonians, (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 1985); Moss, Candida, God’s Ghostwriters: Enslaved Christians and the Making of Bible, (New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company, 2024)].
Luke 3:7-18
John the Baptist’s words, “You brood of vipers!” might have been lingering in the back of the mind of Viola Martin. She is a cynical widowed letter carrier who lives in assisted living who holds both good and bad memories of mail delivery during holidays in the book entitled, The Christmas Letter. Jimmy, her twelve-year-old spirited grandson has taken to visiting her after school every day, regardless of whether she is in a bad or good mood. Halloween is one holiday Viola dreads because it seems to be focused on only children who wear costumes and seek out candy treats. She enjoys Valentine’s Day instead, because it is a time for all people to care for one another. Jimmy developed an idea for an alternative to Halloween celebrations. Jimmy bought cinnamon flavored heart shaped candies and brought them to Viola’s room. They both develop an idea to buy more cinnamon candy heart shaped candies to give to all of the residents of the assisted living center. They named this day as “Hallow Tween.” It was received with joyful surprise and fond memories of all of the residents whose lives are short lived in this assisted living home. This might be a modern example of bearing the fruits of hope as well as living out one’s baptism in the Spirit in the Luke 3 lesson today. (Prochaska, 44-50).
One quick preaching path regarding this text is: What? So What? Now What? The “what” is prophet the people have been waiting or since Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3:1-4) has arrived in John the Baptist. “So What,” is the message that being a child of Abraham is not enough if one does not bear the fruits of repentance. “Now What,” is be fair in the use of power given to any one person. This includes not abusing others for selfish gain but live as people of faith who have repented of former ways of sharing clothing, food collecting taxes and not committing violence. Justice, charity and generosity all characterize the fruits of repentance in this text (Chen, 50). Luke 3:10-14 is unique in providing specific details regarding caring acts of fairness and kindness as concrete examples of fruits of forgiveness (Aland, 14-15, Chen 50).
Breaking the text into more detail, the “viper” John accuses people in the crowd of being is a poisonous snake which poisons their victims with venom. This poses danger, evil, and threats to other people. These are traits of people who claim to be children of Abraham, and do not bear fruits of repentance.
One might imagine certain church attendees who do not walk the talk of their Christian faith in daily life, thus poisoning the witness of the community of faith. John promises punishment to such evil doers (Malachi 3:13-18, Gadenz, 85). The prophet will both inspire and threaten hearers of such a message. Herold would have John arrested later in Luke 3: 19-20, because John criticized the monarch’s unethical marriage arrangements. Let any preacher be aware of similar power brokers in any audience who hears the “Brood of vipers!” accusation.
Other important observations about this text are that John is not telling people to quit their vocations, way of living or work for the government (tax collectors). Rather, John calls for simple acts of fairness, sharing, kindness and being amicable in disputed situations rather than exercising violence.
For example, a power person in an organization has major disagreements with a subordinate or worker. Rather than pulling rank and threatening to fire the individual, find a way to create an amicable solution, if possible, a “win-win” outcome.
Many churches sponsor clothing drives for children during the holidays as well as donation to local clothing and food pantries. John is not asking anybody to starve or give up their family meal for the needy, only to remember them with donations and possible considering the idea that, “There but for the grace of God go I.” This is very appropriate for this season of the year. And yes, denominations do have such ministries that might be considered for congregations to consider in developing their annual budgets.
The next section of the text addressed the nature of John and Jesus’ baptism. Another detail of this text is Luke 3:16, “but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am unworthy to untie.” All four gospels have a version of this statement (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1: 7 and John 1:27, Aland, 15). This eliminates any speculation that John is the Messiah. Was there a crossover of John’s disciples to follow Jesus can be found in John 1:37? All four gospels affirm that Jesus’ baptism is that of the Holy Spirit, whereas John’s was one of repentance. Space does not permit in this article as to whether to follow a hypothesis that there were two groups of John’s and Jesus’ disciples conducting ministry at the same time.
One path to explore is Jesus’ baptism is of the Holy Spirit, not simply a binary belief in God and Jesus, but points to a triune Godhead. The entire Book of Acts might be a place to pursue Luke’s understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit. Also, Luke’s sermon on the plain is a manual of what Luke considers faithful discipleship (Luke 6:20-38). Luke’s mission statement is Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.” This universal outlook is one parallel with the Zephaniah lesson applying God’s wrath and blessings on both the community of faith and universally.
The winnowing fork portion of the text is a metaphor of future judgement allusions (Malachi 3:1-3) regarding separation the wicked from the righteous people in both the community of faith and universally. This metaphor has Hebrew Bible textual roots for monarchs who also judge righteous and wicked people. Hence, there remains accountability to the Lord God (Proverbs 20: 8; Isaiah 41:16; Jeremiah 15:7; 51:2. Chen 52). In Luke 3:18, the text says this is “good news.” Might this suggest there is a “law and gospel” dimension of the text as Martin Luther often read biblical texts? [Sources: Aland, Kurt, Synopsis of the Four Gospels, 4th/5th edition, Stuttgart, Germany, United Bible Societies, 1982); Chen, Diane G., New Covenant Commentary Series: Luke, Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, Luke, 2017); Gadenz, Pablo T., The Gospel of Luke, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018); Prochaska, Kevin, The Christmas Letter, Mobile, AL: Evergreen Press, 2006) Tiede David L., Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament, Luke, Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Press,1988)].
Application
One unifying theme of all these texts is how to carry the upbeat Christmas spirit beyond the Sundays of Advent and Christmas. Which sorts of gifts can also be gifts that keep on giving in a positive way? Examples include a church ladies’ group who anonymously donates winter coats for needy children in the community. One common theme for later in the year might be “Christmas in July” for those who suffer the consequences of unpredictable natural disasters as well as lack of home cooling systems. Another sermon path I have applied is to use various feeding texts throughout the year to uplift locations in our country where there are food deserts of community without grocery stores with balanced vegetable, fruits and fresh meat choice’s. Might this fruit of Spirit throughout the year?
Alternative Application
Do people really believe there will be a winnowing fork time of judgment from God? Are most western hemisphere Christians basically unitarians at heart? If so, numerous Hebrew Bible texts have been cited alongside this Luke 3 text. There is no guarantee of a Hallmark storybook ending unless one bears the fruits of repentance.
