Advent

December 8, 2019

Scripture Reading: Matthew 3:1-12

But when he 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? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ –Matthew 3:9-12

I wonder how closely we who are the leaders and members in faith groups today read the warnings in the Bible about getting so caught up in doing the busyness of the church that we forget its real purpose. The ancient prophets addressed this routinely and John the Baptist did not mince words when he confronted the general board and elder and deacon equivalents of the synagogue in his day. How much of our actions relate more to conforming the church to the world than the teachings of Christ? How much of our time is spent gathering donated items for the needy, which is a good thing, but forget them as soon as our gifts are delivered?

The homeless, the working poor, the chronically sick, prisoners, and those released from prison, the least of these, need a voice in our society to support services that would help them become self-sufficient and self-supporting. Such services include literacy training, English as a second language training, provision of health care that support employment. The needy need people to walk with them throughout the year. There are lots of opportunities to advocate and volunteer to help in direct service provision. There are lots of things churches could initiate that would help. During this Advent season commit to following through with at least one action you can do throughout the year to alleviate the suffering of the least among us.

Prayer: Lord write on my heart what you are calling me to do to answer your call to serve the least among us. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.