Sermon Text

Last week we dug into Malachi’s prediction of John the Baptist’s coming, the promise of peace that comes from abandoning violence. We focused on Matthew’s version of his ministry last week, but this week we go into Luke’s version. Luke gives us a big crumb to chew on though. It sounds a lot like what we talked about, but that nugget really changes everything. Last week we were given a map to peace through repentance, but this week we talk about the work of redemption. How do you make good on God’s commandments in a world that so often works against God’s will.

I’m speaking specifically here about something we addressed on Christ the King Sunday. In an imperfect world, where we cannot change easily change the systems we are a part of, how can we do what is right, honor God, and further God’s kingdom? The answer comes in different forms depending on what kind of work we’re doing, but I truly believe there is an answer for how to do God’s work no matter the circumstances we find ourselves in. It just means that we have to think through what we do and how.

I’ll give you a question to chew on before we go into the scriptures. Imagine that you worked in retail, something many of us probably did at some point. You are paid commission based upon how many people you can get to sign up for the credit card your company offers. Not only that, but part of your performance review includes signing people up for these cards. You will lose opportunities to be put on the work schedule, you will not be considered for promotion, and you will not receive any addition pay if you do not regularly enroll people in this credit program. One day, someone comes through the line and their bank card declines. They could afford their purchase if they signed up for the card, receiving a 50% credit on their first purchase. Do you sign them up… Or do you let them pass? We’ll come back to this question later.

John the Baptist, as we discussed last week, preached a message of repentance to all who would hear him. This repentance was not open to a few people, but to all people. This openness meant that the people who heard it needed instruction on how to live out their repentance in their own life and circumstances. A general teaching, “Bear fruit worthy or repentance,” works just fine on paper, but “bearing fruit,” means different things in different circumstances. While John only answers three questions in our scripture today, we can extrapolate a great deal from them.

 Firstly, John makes a simple demand of his followers. “If you have more than you need, share it.” I don’t think I need to say much about this, but it is important to note exactly what it means. It is never optional for us to give to those in need, to live alongside people who may be different than us in more ways than one. We are always called to be in community with other people, and that community has to be built on a willingness to lend a hand when it is needed. We also cannot pretend that our help is only meant to be at a distance – we are called to give of ourselves, in time and in resources both, to ensure all people have what they need to not only survive, but to thrive.

The next admonition he gives is specific to two given professions. Firstly, of a tax collector he says they should take only what they are required to take, and of a soldier he demands that they not use their power to exploit the people around them. These both require a bit more context to understand fully. Judea, you see, was an occupied nation. Rome had ruled over the kingdom for about one hundred years by the time John was preaching by the Jordan. Soldiers were taken from all over the empire and placed in just as many places across it. They wielded not only a sword, but the complete mechanism of the Roman empire behind them. If a soldier threatened you, you had no recourse but to give them what they wanted – they ruled the whole world after all.

Likewise, tax collectors were instruments of the Empire and its oppression. The people were made to pay to fund not only their own local governments, but the larger imperial systems. The people were made to pay for the opulence of the Emperor and the continued oppression of their own people. Tax collectors, again shielded from consequence through their proximity to power, would often take more than was required of the people. If the tax was two days wages, then they would take 4 – keeping the extra money taken for themselves. Add to this the tendency for tax collectors to be hired from the local population and you had people who not only were stealing, but stealing from their friends, family, and neighbors.

John asked those who came to him to give up, not only their personal sins, but their participation in greater evils. When a solider was stationed in a foreign land, it was expected they would use the power they had to get what they wanted out of the locals. When a tax collector took money, they were expected to take something for themselves. John looked both in the eye and said that, regardless of expectations and regardless of earthly consequences, God demanded they be better than the systems they were a part of.

A sad reality of the world as it is, is that we cannot work for just about any large company or group without having to take part – either directly or indirectly – in something that feeds into human suffering. No multinational corporation exists that does not abuse some people or group somewhere down the chain of supplies or management. No business exists that does not extort money from people for their services on some level. Unless you work in a local business, you will find yourself a part of a system that seeks to put profits over people, and even then we must always be careful what we contribute into, even in the smaller world of Clarksburg, of Harrison County, of West Virginia.

We can easily give up hope then, to say that since this world is fallen and we all have dirt under our nails, that we should just give in and lean into the filth a bit more. John, and scripture as a whole, does not afford us that option. We have an obligation, even if it is expected we will take advantage or do harm to people, to choose the better path. While it is often unavoidable to be caught up in the mess that is this world, we are still called to rise about those circumstances. The soldier and the tax collector both worked under Rome, but the circumstances that put them into these roles did not need to define them. If they did their duty and nothing more, it would give them space to do what is right. By learning how not to do harm, they could begin to learn to do good. For us who have far more freedom, even more must be expected of us.

Let us return to the scenario we began with. You are expected to sell people lines of credit, but it is obvious that the person in front of you needs anything but another source of debt. Do you push them to get the card so they can complete their purchase, or do you keep silent about the deal? I won’t answer that question for you, you should be able to answer it after all we’ve talked about. While it is asked of you to sell people on this line of credit, if the only thing it gets you is commission and preference – in other words things beyond your contract – then it is truly a discretionary matter. If we look across any work we do, I think we’ll find that discretion is often hiding in the midst of life’s impossible situations.

Think on what you do, if you’re actively employed or if you’re retired, if you volunteer or if you are in a paid position, and ask what you do that helps people and that hurts people. How can you identify the lines you are not willing to cross? What can you do to further the Good even in the midst of systems that often cause more harm than good?

We all have a part to play in dismantling evil around us, and John asks us to begin by not taking advantage of the situations we are in and not coming up with excuses about why evil is ok when we do it. Repent, bear fruit worthy of repentance, and be transformed. – Amen.