Jesus’ Ministry
January 12, 2019
Scripture Reading: Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ –Luke 3:15-17
I need a good winnower. Raised on a farm, I have seen the wheat shafts being separated from the kernels. It is the kernels from which we and other animals draw nutrition and strength.
Our lives need routine winnowing. I call it filtering as more people understand that process today than winnowing. We change our heat and air filters and are astounded by how much yuck they capture. Our cities filter the water we drink to take out harmful elements. We change air filters and oil filters and I do not know what else to maintain our cars in peak operating order. Christ cleanses us of those things that separates us from God. In like manner we, I think, are called to winnow the world removing those things that are unjust in God’s eyes.
One of the most stubborn things that separates us from God are those prejudicial ideas that clog our thinking when we fail to love our neighbors as we love ourselves because we do not see our neighbors as being like ourselves. God put no limitations on who we are to love, and neither should we because all people are God’s children and our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Prayer: Lord keep my filter clean so that I can love unconditionally like Jesus. Amen.