-
Spiritual Heritage
And you should not think to say among yourselves, “We have Abraham as father.” -John the Baptist (Matthew 3:9a) The Pharisees who came against John’s baptism thought that they did not need to “make fruit worthy of repentance,” because they could trace their lineage back to Abraham. They claimed Abraham as the forefather of their…
-
Making Good Fruit
Make fruit worthy of repentance…already the ax is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not make good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. -John the Baptist (Matthew 3:8,10) When I think of a truly repentant person (myself or others), I tend to think of someone who feels…
-
Brood of Vipers (Part 2 of 2)
But when John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7). (Same verse as yesterday, new thought.) It must not have been very fun to be called a brood of vipers―the offspring of a venomous…
-
Brood of Vipers (Part 1 of 2)
But when John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” (Matthew 3:7, NRSV). When I first read this verse, I wasn’t sure what to make of the thought that a bunch of Pharisees and Sadducees came…
-
Unsatisfying Apologies
And they were baptized by John in the Jordan river, confessing their sins. (Matthew 3:7) Confession can be a vague thing. It might sound like someone is confessing to a crime, or confessing their love. It might conjure up images of a confessional booth in a Catholic church, where a priest listens through a little…
-
Paul the Idol
Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region along the Jordan went out to him. (Matthew 3:5) One of the church-y things churches sometimes talk about (because church-y people like to make up new words) is being “attractional” vs “missional.” Sometimes it feels like there is a kind of tension between the idea of…
-
A Weird Dude
And John wore clothing of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. (Matthew 3:4). This is pretty much the only physical description we get of what John’s life looked like out there in the wilderness. And to me, the camel’s hair and leather belt make…
-
Into the Wilderness
In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the wilderness of Judea. (Matthew 3:1) Of all the places John the Baptist could have gone to preach, the wilderness was an interesting choice. This was not a fun, lively, well-developed national park with a nice visitor center (my kind of wilderness). This was wilderness-y wilderness.…
-
Introductions
Today, the first Sunday of Advent, I embark on an adventure of writing and sharing daily reflections on the life and story of John the Baptist. True confession: I have not written any of these reflections yet. Not even tomorrow’s! I have no grand master plan. I just think John the Baptist is an important…