Matthew 3:1–12

Advent 2

¹In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ²"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." ³For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight." ⁴Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, ⁶and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? ⁸Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹"I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹²His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."

Do you have your Christmas tree yet? Have you found that perfect tree to adorn your home this Christmas? For many of us, the tree is one of the highlights of the season. We drive all over the city searching for just the right tree. Once we find it, we somehow manage to tie all of its branches and stuff it into our car or on the roof. Once home, we lug it into the house, thaw it out, stand it up and try to figure how to keep it straight. We dig out the decorations from attics or closets and cover the branches of our tree with bright lights, ornaments, and tinsel. It becomes the center piece of our Christmas decorations and the focal point for our celebrations. At the base of the tree we place brightly colored presents and that location will soon be the gathering point where the gifts will be opened at the appointed time.

Now, some people may tell us that the Second Sunday in Advent is too early to be talking about Christmas trees. Yet trees are as much a part of our Advent preparation as they are a part of Christmas itself. Listen again to these words from today’s Gospel: “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” With these words, John the Baptist is calling us away from the frivolities of the season to the true preparation for the Coming of the Savior. His words stir our hearts to receive the one who brings us the Kingdom of Heaven.

His message is summarized in the words of verse 2: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” There are two parts to his message: part one is “repent” and part two is “the kingdom is at hand.”

Repent! To whom was John talking? He was not talking to the sinners; the publicans, the prostitutes, the thieves, the drug addicts, the wife abusers, the gang members, or the terrorists. He was talking to people like you and me. He was talking to the faithful, the church goers, and the leaders in the church, the pastors and teachers.

His message; “repent.” Repent of what? We are all good people. Repent of our sins? What sins? We are not like those sinners; prostitutes, and drug addicts.

But we are all born in sin. We all are born with original sin and are therefore sinners who deserve God’s wrath and punishment. This judgment is not based on our external works. Like us, the people to whom John was speaking looked like pretty good people. They led exemplary lives. They were outstanding as leaders in church and community. No one could point a finger of blame to them any more than they could most of us. But the problem is not what we do, it’s what we are. And what we are is sinful people.

John says “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees.”

The axe is laid at the root of the family tree. At this time of the year when so much emphasis is placed on family; family get-togethers, family time together, family meals, this comes as hard words. But John was saying to the children of Israel that it was not enough to be descendents of Abraham for salvation. You see, they had the general idea that because they were descendents of Abraham, God would show them special favor. They were guaranteed a place in his kingdom on the basis of their family tree. They thought they were special to God because of their family roots. But the axe is laid at the root of the family tree of Abraham. They were called beyond inheritance to repentance and faith.

We have a similar attitude today. While we do not depend on our descendency from Abraham, many people think that because they are Lutherans, or Catholics, or Baptists or belong to a non-denominational church gives them special status with God. Or that because their family are longstanding members of the church, or founders of the congregation, or whatever else, they have some special status. But by these we have no special place in the kingdom. The only special status in God’s kingdom comes from being children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. There is no other special status. For we are all alike sinners and no one is saved except by the grace of God given to us through his Son who died for us on the cross.

We are called by John beyond nostalgia at this time of the year to something more. Christmas is not all about family get-togethers and family time around the tree in our living rooms. Christmas is not just about shopping, and presents, and decorations and cookies. Christmas, and the preparation for Christmas in Advent, is about repentance and faith.

“Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees.” The axe is laid to the root of the unfruitful tree. We have all shared in the sin of Adam and Eve when they ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As a result of the fruit they ate, our lives are unfruitful. We do not do the works that God requires. In fact, we cannot do them. It is not a simple matter of trying harder or doing better. The problem of original sin is that we cannot do any better. No matter how hard we try, we do not have it in us to produce the works which God requires. We cannot love God with all our heart, mind and strength. We cannot love our neighbor as ourselves. We all know the frustration we sometimes feel trying to love one another and falling short. We all know how much we have tried to love God and our neighbor. That is because we are separated from God from the beginning and in order to love God requires that we be reconnected to him. It is impossible to love God when we are disconnected from him. It is impossible to bear fruit when the branch is cut from the vine. We are branches cut off from the vine by nature. We are corrupt by nature and a corrupt tree cannot give good fruit.

But John tells us, “Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” God’s righteous judgment comes upon Israel. We remember the devastation of Jerusalem when King Nebuchadnezzar burned it to the ground and took captives to be slaves in Babylon. The time Nebuchadnezzar took Daniel, Shadrak, Mishak, and Abednego. They city was besieged, the city walls torn down, and the temple completely destroyed. Jeremiah said afterward: “How lonely sits the city that was full of people! How like a widow she has become, she who was great among the nations! She who was a princess among the provinces has become a slave. She weeps bitterly in the night, with tears on her cheeks.” By the waters of Babylon we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion.

More importantly, God’s righteous judgment comes also upon us. We have not born good fruit either. The fruits of righteousness are small and few in our lives. Much of what makes up our Christmas celebration is artificial. We cover up our failures and sins with a shallow wrapping much like the paper we wrap the presents in. We try to stimulate ourselves to feel joy and peace with all sorts of lights, decorations, tinsel, food, song, and revelry. We make merry and gather for happy celebrations, but inside we are filled greed, pride, lust and jealously just like the rest of the year. But John calls us past such phoniness. He calls us to repentance. The axe is laid to the root of the tree. We have not borne the fruit of righteousness. We are like the tree outside Jerusalem which Jesus cursed because it had no fruit and the next day it was dead. John’s message is “repent.”

But John does not have the final word. He himself knows this. He was but a forerunner. His message will be proclaimed again in the One who brings the kingdom of heaven to us.

He calls us to “repent.” Repent for the “kingdom of heaven is at hand.” John, while calling us to repentance, also points us to Jesus. Jesus is the one who will bring judgment. His fire is unquenchable and the “thrashing floor” (which is the whole world) belongs to him. Jesus will be the judge on the last day.

But the coming of Jesus is not simply to execute wrath and judgment. Abraham’s descendents have failed, but Christ will make new descendents of Abraham by baptizing them with the Holy Spirit. The love of God doesn’t go out looking for what pleases it, it creates what pleases it. And the love of God created you and me as new creatures in baptism. In baptism we were created new, born again, in the image of Christ and pleasing to God.

Jesus came to hang on the tree of the cross for the sins of all mankind. He died for all the descendents of Abraham, both the physical descendents, the Israelites, and the spiritual descendents, those who are descendents by faith in Jesus Christ. He came to pay for our sins and reconcile us to God. He came to give us peace with God. He came to give peace to all who have received God’s favor by faith.

Jesus reconnects us to God by his atoning death on the cross. His death paid for our sins and removed the separation between us and God. By his death, we have been joined to God and adopted by God as his children. The branches that were cut off have been grafted back into the vine.

Jesus is the new “shoot from the stump of Jesse” that restores to us the tree of life, the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is the one Isaiah spoke of in our Old Testament reading today, a branch from the stump of Jesse who shall bear fruit. We are that fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and might, of knowledge and the fear of the Lord shall be upon him. Just as the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove at his baptism, so shall the spirit of God be on him and he shall judge the poor with righteousness and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. Righteousness is his belt of his waist and faithfulness the belt of his loins.

This Jesus is the one we prepare for during this Advent Season. This same Jesus comes to us today in baptism and the Lord’s Supper. By Word and Sacrament we feast upon Christ as our tree of life. He is the vine and we are the branches. By Word and Sacrament we are reconnected to the tree and bring forth the fruit of repentance in our lives. We trust in him for forgiveness and he fills us with the hope of eternal life.

This Jesus who comes to us in baptism and the Lord’s Supper also renews our life and produces fruit of repentance in our lives. He transforms our way of thinking and creates a new heart in us, a heart filled with love for our neighbor and forgiveness. He himself lives in us and produces the fruits of love and joy and peace in our lives. The fruits of righteousness are the fruit of repentance.

Therefore, put away all that offends him from our lives. Do not walk in anger, greed, selfishness, bitterness or divisions. Put on the righteousness of Christ and the fruit of repentance.

So, go ahead and put up your Christmas tree! Hang all the ornaments you’d like. Light it up for the world to see. Let this Christmas tradition point you to Jesus, the shoot of the stump of Jesse, who comes to baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire to make you his own and gather you into his eternal kingdom in heaven forever. Amen.