Happy Advent, you brood of vipers
Luke 3:7-18 So John kept saying to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Therefore produce fruits in keeping with repentance! Do not even think of saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ because I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 9Even now the ax is ready to strike the root of the trees. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is going to be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10The crowds began to ask him, “What should we do then?” 11He answered them, “Whoever has two shirts should share with the person who has none, and whoever has food should do the same.” 12Tax collectors also came to be baptized. They said, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13To them he said, “Collect no more than what you were authorized to.” 14Soldiers were also asking him, “And what should we do?” He told them, “Do not extort money from anyone by force or false accusation. Be satisfied with your wages.”
15The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might be the Christ. 16John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But someone mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor. He will gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” 18Then with many other words, he appealed to them and was preaching good news to the people.
Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice (Philippians 4:4)! Amen.
You know Christmas is near when John the Baptist appears on the scene to say, “Happy Advent, you brood of vipers.”
Christmas is coming soon. John the Baptist wants to know if you are ready. He isn’t so concerned about whether your decorations are up, gifts are bought, and baking is done. John isn’t concerned if your house if ready for Jesus. He wants to know if your heart is ready for Jesus.
John doesn’t care if your eggnog tastes OK or if your child gets the latest “must have” toy. He’s concerned whether you are living like a follower of Christ now. And he’s concerned whether you’re going to be living with Christ forever.
That’s why John is so blunt. He calls you a brood of vipers. He’s calling you offspring of the original viper – Satan. In his sermon in the wilderness, he says that you are like a fruitless tree that is going to be cut down and thrown into the fire. You are like chaff in the barn that will be shoveled into unquenchable fire.
He lumps you in with the tax collectors, soldiers, and others in his congregation. He says that you are greedy and unwilling to share your clothing and food with others. You steal from other people. You cheat your employer because you aren’t satisfied with your wages.
John is very direct because he wants you to see your sin, repent of that sin, and receive forgiveness from Jesus for that sin, so you can be with Jesus without sin forever.
John knows we are lazy with our faith. We are apathetic toward Christian living. We are distracted by pleasures and treasures, family, friends, work, sports, and more. That apathy means we are not ready for Jesus’ return.
We are constantly in danger of losing our faith. Sometimes from open sin and vice. But even more from laziness and lukewarmness.
We can easily be like the Jews in John’s audience who thought they were good enough because they were Abraham’s children. “Do not even think of saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ because I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones” (Luke 3:8).
Years ago, while I was still at the Seminary, I went to a nursing home to visit a shut-in member. When it was time for the confession of sins, I asked her, “Is this your confession, then answer ‘yes.’” She said, “Vicar, I’m in a nursing home. How can I sin?”
I was so new, I didn’t know what to say. I finally asked, “Do you like your roommate?” “Oh, no! She leaves her TV blaring at all hours!” “Do you like the food here?” “Oh, no! They serve runny Jell-o and soggy vegetables!” “What do you think about your family?” “I don’t like them! They stuck me here and never come to visit me!” I replied, “Well, let’s go with those three sins.”
We can be like that older lady, can’t we? We know we’re not perfect. But we’re pretty good. We’re certainly better than offspring of Satan or rotten trees or worthless chaff.
That’s what we think of ourselves. But we’re wrong. We need someone like John the Baptist or a pastor, a teacher, a parent, or a good friend to point out our sins to us. As sanctified saints, we should be struggling with our sin all the time. As God’s baptized children, we should be fighting against Satan who is trying to bring us back into his brood. When we’re not struggling, that means we’ve given into temptation. When we’re not fighting, that means Satan is winning. When we have become lukewarm and lazy in our faith, then we are in danger of losing our faith and ending up in the unquenchable fire of hell.
John appears on the scene every Advent calling us a brood of vipers to shock us with some straight talk. He is calling us to repent and return to Jesus.
If you’ve been Lutheran for a while, you understand that we begin each worship service with straight talk. Right after we invoke the name of the Triune God, we confess that we are sinful by nature, and that we have sinned against God in our thoughts, words, and actions. We also admit that we deserve punishment now and forever.
This is a shock to the system for those outside the Lutheran Church. They are hearing some strange, new ideas. Most have never heard all this talk about sins, a sinful nature, or eternal damnation.
New visitors need to hear this. Long-time members need to hear this. That’s because we tend to picture God as an over-indulgent parent. A parent who is indifferent to the sins and faults of his children. And, if the children sin, they can ask for forgiveness … then go right back to sinning some more.
When we begin to think like this, we need to hear God’s prophets, apostles, and present-day pastors shocking our system with the straight talk of God’s Law. The Law shows our sin.
The Law makes you uncomfortable in the pew. (Well, the pew is already uncomfortable, but even more so.) Then Jesus comes along to comfort you with his forgiveness.
The Law makes you feel the flames of hell licking at the soles of your feet. Then the Gospel – that shows your Savior – makes you feel like you are walking on the golden streets of heaven.
The Law cuts open your soul like an ugly growth where all the ugly pus oozes out. Then Jesus comes with the salve of his grace to heal your wounded soul.
You first recognize your sin. You admit your sin. You repent and turn from that sin. Then you ask for forgiveness for that sin. You acknowledge you are part of Satan’s brood of vipers. You confess you are a rotten tree. You admit you are worthless chaff. You repent of sins caused by your roommate’s TV, the watery Jell-o and soggy veggies, and your family ignoring you.
Then Jesus will come along to fix you. John the Baptist points you to the water of Baptism. He says, “I baptize you with water. But someone mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16).
Your parents didn’t bring you to the baptismal font as an infant because it’s a cute religious rite. You didn’t come to be baptized as an adult because it’s a cool spectacle. You come to baptism because you are in desperate need. We are all addicted to sin. We are dead, rotten, worthless on our own. Baptism is about death and life, sin and grace. Baptism is about the Holy Spirit cleansing us with fire and making us holy with faith in Jesus. John knows we need to know that.
I’ve been blessed through my ministry to talk to a lot of outreach prospects about Jesus. Many people want to start conversations discussing the “hot button” topics of Christianity – infant baptism, closed communion, the doctrine of fellowship, the roles of men and women, and so on. These have been “hot button” topics since the beginning of the Christian Church.
When people mention they want to talk about those things, I suggest that we will eventually get there. But those are “meaty” topics – tough to chew on. I like to start with something simpler like the “milk and bread” of the Bible. Then we open our Bibles to Romans 6 and 7. We talk about how we are in a constant struggle with our sinful nature. Like the apostle Paul, we can say about ourselves, “What a wretched person I am” (Romans 7:24)! But then we hear Paul’s next words, “Who will rescue me from this body of death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:24-25)!
We are frustrated with our sin. None of us can live a perfect life. None of us can rescue ourselves from sin and its consequences. We are in need of a Savior from sin. Thanks be to God that he gives us that Savior in his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Brand-new outreach prospects need to hear that in our conversations with them. Longtime Lutheran church members need to hear that every Sunday. Our children and teens need to hear that in our Lutheran elementary and high schools. And saints on their deathbed need to be reminded of that.
We see what we are. Then we see what Christ has made us to be.
Jesus makes you offspring of your heavenly Father through Baptism. He makes you a fruitful tree through his holy Word. He makes you worthwhile wheat that will be gathered for the harvest on the Last Day. He makes you appreciate that you are a sinner so that you can be grateful for the salvation he won for you as your Savior.
He makes you not only a follower through faith. He also makes you a doer of that faith.
He changes you through recognition and repentance, through Word and Sacrament. Instead of being selfish, you gladly give others clothing and food. John advises, “Whoever has two shirts should share with the person who has none, and whoever has food should do the same” (Luke 3:11).
Instead of lying and scheming, you are honest in your dealing. John advises, “Collect no more than what you were authorized to” (Luke 3:13).
Instead of using extortion or accusations to get what you want, you are content with what God gives you. John advises, “Do not extort money from anyone by force or false accusation. Be satisfied with your wages” (Luke 3:14).
John is talking about doing our faith – fulfilling our Christian vocations. Fulfill your Christian vocation as a spouse, parent, child, employer, worker, citizen, etc.
Being ready for Jesus begins with repentance. Then comes forgiveness from Jesus. That’s followed by living for Jesus.
Being ready for Jesus to return involves more than just claiming to be a Christian and acting like one a couple hours a week at church. Be a Christian at church, at home, at work, at school, on the athletic field, and in the stands. Strive to act like a Christian everywhere and at all times. Christianity is not just a name thing, like the Jews thinking they were OK because they were the physical descendants of Abraham. True Christianity is a lifestyle thing – those who share the faith of Abraham in their heart and live that faith in their daily lives.
Take to heart the words of John the Baptist. Stay prepared for Jesus’ return through humble, daily repentance – repentance that uses the Law to admit to being a sinner, but also has a genuine desire to fight temptations to sin. Stay prepared for Jesus’ return by believing the Gospel that Jesus has declared you not guilty of any sin in God’s sight, rescued you from the punishment of hell, and empowers you to live a God-pleasing life until he comes to bring you to his eternal home in heaven.
Then John the Baptist may begin his sermon saying to you, “Happy Advent, you brood of vipers.” But he ends his sermon saying, “Happy Advent, you children of the heavenly Father.” Amen.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). Amen.