Preparing with purpose
3:7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptised by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The axe has been laid to the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.’
10 ‘What should we do then?’ the crowd asked.
11 John answered, ‘Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.’
12 Even tax collectors came to be baptised. ‘Teacher,’ they asked, ‘what should we do?’
13 ‘Don’t collect any more than you are required to,’ he told them.
14 Then some soldiers asked him, ‘And what should we do?’
He replied, ‘Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.’
15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, ‘I baptise you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’ 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.
Luke 3:7–18 (NIVUK)
Advent is a season of preparation in more ways than one. We decorate our homes with lights, trees, and nativity scenes. We shop for gifts—if you need to post yours, you’re cutting it pretty fine! Of course, as believers in Jesus, we know that the most important preparation we do during Advent is in preparing our hearts for the Lord Jesus to enter in.
In the years and months before Jesus’ arrival in the world, John the Baptist preaches with intensity and urgency, but his words are a call to a real, joyful transformation. Today, John lays out for us three ways to prepare this Advent with purpose: through repentance, generosity, and hope.
Repentance: turning toward God
8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our father.” For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The axe has been laid to the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.’
Luke 3:8–9 (NIVUK)
John’s message begins with a call for people to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Repentance means turning away from sin and toward God, letting God reshape our hearts and actions. The image of an axe being laid to the root is consistent with the image Jesus uses of the vine being pruned. Both are accurate pictures of what the process of repentance does in us.
The pruning process is a difficult one, but necessary if we are going to keep bearing fruit as God’s people. If we have any hope of being the loving, generous, and caring people of God that we are called to be, we need him to prune us and prepare us so that our ability to bear fruit isn’t hindered.
We know that repentance is more than just saying sorry to God, but the act of turning away from sin and toward God. When we acknowledge our sin before God, He restores us to Himself and makes fruit appear on our branches. “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance,” John says.
Zephaniah proclaims that “the Lord has taken away your punishment” and “turned back your enemy”. He is with you, so you never need to fear harm again (Zephaniah 3:15). His pruning work on us is painful, but it is not harmful. Sometimes, a painful process is the most healthy thing for us. That’s certainly the case when it comes to removing the dead, fruitless branches on us.
We begin most of our worship services with a posture of confession and repentance before God. Every time we enter His presence, we recognise our need for His healing and forgiveness. This Advent, consider the branches in you that are no longer bearing fruit. Consider the things that are taking up all the space in your heart and mind, preventing Jesus from entering in. Consider what it might mean for you to actively turn toward God this Advent season.
We prepare for Christ by repenting.
Generosity: sharing with others
10 ‘What should we do then?’ the crowd asked.
11 John answered, ‘Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.’
Luke 3:10–11 (NIVUK)
The crowds that came to hear John’s preaching had come because they were ready to repent. They had been baptised by John, which was only a symbolic washing of repentance at that point. They had ticked the repentance box—they were ready to continue with the next stage of their preparation. So, they ask, “What should we do then?”
It’s uncommon to get such practical advice in Scripture, especially from a prophet, but John is very practical and very specific in his response. Share what you have with people who have less than you. It’s so simple, yet it’s so difficult to do and it’s easy to avoid. This is a particularly pertinent piece of advice when so many of us give and receive gifts at Christmas—maybe that’s already begun for you.
The Christian church has always had charities and institutions that were established for this exact purpose—giving to those that have less—so it’s even easier for us. We can very easily throw a bit of money at the Christian or even other charities and organisations that do good work in this community. I’m thankful that we Lutherans have a very effective organisation in Australian Lutheran World Service. Their website states that only 15.4% of all the money they receive is used for overheads: all the costs associated with administration and fundraising. The rest goes into projects that help and educate people. So, in the Lutheran Church, it’s very easy to practice generosity to people in need.
The word from Isaiah 12 gives another aspect to our generosity:
12:4 In that day you will say:
‘Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done,
and proclaim that his name is exalted.
5 Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.Isaiah 12:4–5 (NIVUK)
We are called to be generous with practical things and with spiritual things. As people who not only possess plenty of material goods, but also the very goodness of God through the Holy Spirit, we prepare our hearts for Christ by being generous with both. When we share the goodness of God with others, we’ll often find that it can translate to practical things as well.
So, this Advent, consider how you can practice generosity in a new way. How could you give to someone who is in physical need? How could you share the goodness of God with someone in spiritual need?
We prepare our hearts for Christ by our repentance and our generosity.
Hope: living with expectation
15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, ‘I baptise you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’
Luke 3:15–17 (NIVUK)
The people are onboard with John’s call to repentance and his advice to be generous, to the point that they even wondered whether John was the Saviour that God had sent. John points them to Jesus, who was about to come into the world. They still needed to keep preparing. Repentance? Check. Generosity? Check. Step three is to live in hope.
Preparing for Christ is about more than just fixing ourselves. It’s about more than just being better people. We repent and we are generous because we live in hope for what Jesus is doing for us and will do for all the world on the Last Day. Hope is what inspires everything we do as Christian people who are awaiting His return.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:4–6 (NIVUK)
We do not deny that there will be difficult things to deal with in this life, but we are called to deal with everything by presenting our requests to God with thanksgiving. We may not be all that thankful for the hard things in life, but we are thankful that we have hope that extends far beyond any suffering we will experience in this world.
Our hope in Christ is not just a nice idea or a good way to finish a sermon. Our hope in Christ is what we live in and live for. It defines everything. When we know that hope for ourselves, we are ready for His return.
Conclusion
So, as you prepare your home and your heart this Advent, prepare with purpose. Repent, turning to God. Be generous, sharing with others physically and spiritually. Hope, living in joyful expectation. As you repent, share, and hope, you will experience the peace that only Jesus brings.
May that peace, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
