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And What Should We Do?
Luke 3:1-22

And we, what should we do? This seems to be a very appropriate question to ask after last Wednesday's events at the nation’s capital.

As we are all aware, an angry mob stormed the capital building and occupied it briefly. The Congress was forced to evacuate and go into hiding. The building was vandalized. Some items were pilfered. Tear gas and flash bang grenades were deployed by the police. Shots were fired, leaving one unarmed woman dead. A police officer died after being assaulted, several protestors died of medical emergencies unrelated to the violence, and many others were injured. Pipe bombs were discovered inside the building. It is a day that will live in infamy.

In response, law enforcement is erecting a seven-foot unscalable fence around the entire perimeter of the capital. They are actively seeking to bring the perpetrators to justice. Some Democrats are calling for the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to be invoked by Vice-President Pence and the Cabinet to remove President Trump from office. Barring that, they plan to draft and pass articles of impeachment in the House of Representatives. Republicans have strongly denounced the lawless attack and are doing damage control with an eye on the mid-term elections of 2022.

There are many unanswered questions. Why was the crowd whipped into a frenzy and encouraged to march on the capital? What was the composition and intention of the mob that breached the building? Why was there such a minimal police force present to defend our elected officials? These and many other questions will no doubt be asked and answered in the months ahead.

But what should we do in the interim? This morning’s reading from Luke’s gospel helps us to answer that question.

The historical context is important. The people of Israel were living under the tyrannical governments of the Roman Emperor Tiberius and his governor, Pontius Pilate. They were also under the repressive regime of King Herod and his brothers. The religious leadership was corrupt and self-serving under the priesthoods of Annas and Caiaphas.

Under these desperate circumstances, the Word of God came to John the Baptist in the wilderness. John is the last of the Old Testament prophets. But what was the word of the Lord to John? Revolt against your tyrannical oppressors? No! The Word of God was, “Get ready!” Prepare the way of the Lord. Let the lowly be lifted up. Let the haughty humble themselves. Let the crooked straighten out and fly right. Let the rough temper their evil ways. John’s core message was a radical reorientation of life away from self and toward God and neighbor.

John commanded the crowds to repent. Change the direction of your life, he said. He promised that God would forgive their sins. He offered them baptism as a sign of their changed hearts.

Now John had definitely not read Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People. When the crowds came out to repent and receive baptism, John greeted them with vituperative words, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”

John warned the crowds against trusting in their national heritage. “Do not begin to say to yourselves ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor.’” A corollary affirmation for us would be “We have George Washington as our ancestor.” Instead, John exhorted the crowds to look at the kind of lives they were living. How did they speak? How did they act? How did they think? And John threatened the crowds with divine judgment. God’s ax was lying at the root of trees that bore bad fruit. God was ready to chop down fruitless trees and cast them into the fire of God’s anger.

John’s message got the crowd’s attention. They began to come forward in groups and ask him, “What then should we do?” To the average citizen, John advised them to be charitable. If you have an extra coat, share it with someone who has none. If you have food, share it with someone who has none or very little. Do not be solely focused on your own welfare. John asked them to begin seeing their neighbors as people who needed and deserved their compassion and help. He asked them to make a difference in their neighbors' lives. This is a good starting point for us. Let us be charitable to each other in words, deeds, and thoughts. Let us put an end to demonizing our neighbors with whom we may disagree. There is power in kind words, thoughts, and deeds to heal our land.

The next group to present themselves were tax collectors. They were the direct agents of Rome’s and Palestine’s oppressive governments. They were known for dishonesty and duplicity. They were not allowed to testify in a court of law because they could not be believed. It sounds a bit like our elected officials. The old joke has an element of truth. “How can you tell when politicians are lying? Their lips are moving!” John’s advice to the tax collectors was be honest. Do your jobs the way they are supposed to be done. Do not focus on how you can enrich and empower yourself. Do not be greedy. Think of the poor people you are taxing. This is sound counsel for Democratic and Republican members of Congress. Do your job. Be honest. Stop focusing on winning the next election and increasing your party’s power. Serve the people who elected you. Get in touch with their needs and aspirations. Help them.

The last group to appear before John were soldiers. These were most likely Herod’s troops and not Roman legionnaires. John’s advice to them was “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusations and be satisfied with your wages." That is, act justly. Law enforcement and the military wield the power of life and death. That is why they are armed with deadly force. John’s advice to them was not to abuse this god-like power, especially to enrich or empower themselves. They should be people of integrity and equal justice. This is sound counsel for all who are in positions of power over us. The Lord’s intention is for them to be God’s servants for our good.

But John the Baptist did more than call the people to repent, be baptized, and bear fruits worthy of repentance. John also pointed them toward the one who was to come, the Messiah. Many people wondered out loud whether John was the Messiah, but John emphatically denied it. John said that one much more powerful was coming. John said, “I am not worthy to perform the most menial task of a slave in taking off his sandals.” John baptized with water. The Messiah will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.

John warned the crowd that the coming one would separate the grain from the chaff. In the ancient world, grain was tossed into the air on a windy day to separate the outer chaff from the kernel. The grain would be gathered into the granary of God’s kingdom, but the chaff would be burned with unquenchable fire.

John’s people skills were still lacking. Nonetheless, Luke tells us that John proclaimed the good news with many other exhortations. It is better to be told the truth than to be coddled. John was right about the one who was to come, but he conflates Jesus’ first coming and his second coming. In his second coming, Jesus with appear with the winnowing fork and unquenchable fire, but in his first coming, Jesus brings the Holy Spirit.

At his baptism, we find Jesus humbly praying. The Holy Spirit descends on Jesus in the form of a dove, a symbol of peace. And the voice from heaven speaks tenderly. “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.” What the beloved son brings is what we so desperately need.

We need the Holy Spirit to be poured out on our nation to turn us from self-absorption and greed, abuse of power, and violence towards our neighbors and guide us to charity and justice. We need the dove of peace to descend on us. We need tender, kindly words from God our Father and from those whom God has put in positions of authority over us. We desperately need God to heal our land.

Our entire socio-political and economic system has become oppressive and unresponsive to the needs and desires of many citizens. But we do not need a revolution; we need a renovation of the heart. What is crushed must be lifted up. What is haughty must be humbled. What is crooked and perverse must be straightened. What is rough must be smoothed. We need to repent as a nation, to change the trajectories of our lives away from the world and back to God. Leaders and citizens alike must become charitable, honest, and just in their dealings with each other. We need to bear fruits worthy of repentance.

But we must also reorient our lives toward the one who was humbly praying on the banks of the Jordan River. He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. He can change us from the inside out. He is the one who can bring the dove of peace. He is the one through whom we can hear God say to us, “You are my beloved child; with you I am well pleased."

So, what should we do? Let us repent. Let us bear good fruit. Let us reform all we do, say, and think. Let us look to the one John pointed to. Let us look to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, so that we may become as he is.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.