Readings
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Canticle 9
Philippians 4:4-7
Luke 3:7-18
Traditionally today, the third Sunday of Advent, is called “Gaudete” Sunday. “Gaudete” is the Latin word for “rejoice.” It is the Sunday when our focus turns to hope. It is for this reason that we see a pink candle in the Advent wreath. That pink is meant to convey the light of a new dawn appearing. It is meant to communicate that the darkness is coming to an end soon. It is an invitation to rejoice and be filled with hope at the coming of our Lord.
How interesting then is it that today’s gospel reading is once again filled with apocalyptic language. But, like most apocalyptic writing, it is filled with images that most of us would find disturbing. John the Baptist is not short on angry language and images. He refers to those who have come out to be baptized as a “brood of vipers” and tells them that they cannot rely on their religious or ethnic pedigrees as an assurance of their right relationship with God. And he ends today’s lesson by talking about the one who will come after him having a “winnowing fork” in his hand separating the wheat from the chaff and throwing the chaff into “unquenchable fire.”
What are we to make of such images. It is clear that the author of this Gospel wants us to see John foretelling the coming of Jesus. He wants us to see Jesus in apocalyptic terms. But what exactly does that mean?
Well, remember that apocalyptic language is supposed to offer comfort and hope for those who hear it. Unfortunately, for much of Christian history, this passage has been anything but hopeful. It has been interpreted for us as a sign that Jesus will come and separate the good people from the bad people. The good people will all go to heaven and the bad people will all go to hell. Why else would John speak of “unquenchable fire?”
But I don’t think this is a very accurate reading of today’s Gospel. John’s message is one of hope. He calls people out of a complacent religion into an ethic of living that has the power to be transformative to the human community. And as for the image of Jesus winnowing the wheat from the chaff, I believe that this is not about separating people as much as it is about separating each of us from all the things that get in the way of living a transformed and transformative life.
You see, one way to interpret the image of separating wheat from chaff, is to recognize that all of us are the wheat. And, that the chaff is the obstacles and burdens we face in daily living that make living out a transformed life difficult, and sometimes even impossible. Think about how easy it is for each of us to become bogged down in the pessimism of our time. Think about how easy it is to feel weighed down by financial or health concerns. Think about just how easy it is in the midst of all of these burdens to feel as if the world is going to hell in a handbasket. Think about how our discouragement can lead us to become blind to the gift of those around us and to our own call to be a gift to others.
But John’s message is that we need not be so concerned. Through metaphorical language he calls us to recognize that the hope of God is that all of those things that entrap and burden us will be stripped away. He calls us to recognize that the time is coming when we will be free of those burdens and that they never will return. He offers us the hope of a transformed and transforming life. And while he never uses the language, he offers us the good news of the Kingdom of God.
And what does that transformed and transforming life look like? Well, we need look no farther than the part of today’s Gospel that occurs in the middle of the passage. When asked what to do from a variety of folks, John is clear. We are called to recognize the abundance in our lives, whatever that may look like, and to share it with others. We are called to claim no more in this life than is fitting. We are called to be happy with what we have and to not greedily seek more and more. In short, we are to love God and love our neighbor. We are to recognize the blessings of this life and, even in the midst of unavoidable pain, embrace the good.
By doing so we allow ourselves to be winnowed of the chaff which burdens us. We avoid the trap of becoming too attached and identified with the cares and worries of this world. We are offered the hope of our lives being transformed even as the circumstances of our lives remain the same. And, last but not least, we are offered the opportunity to be agents of transformation in the lives of others.
As we celebrate this Third Sunday of Advent, the Sunday in which the word “rejoice” is at the heart of our observance, let us be filled with the hope of John’s words. Let us, in the midst of the cares and occupations of this life, embrace the one who is coming. Let our burdens be winnowed and let us be gathered into nothing less than the Kingdom of God.