Luke 3:10-18

 And the crowds asked John the Baptist, “What then should we do?” He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two tunics should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.” Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people.

Discussion Questions:

1. Who are the marginalized in your community? What could you do to reach out to them?
2. “Repentance is not what bad people have to do. It is what people who live out of transcendent ( Kingdom values) find necessary.” How do you relate to this statement? How is repentance something you see as a necessary and ongoing part your spiritual journey? Explain
3. Compassion for ourselves, and for others is a critical part of, (or…transcendent value) and necessary for repentance. Do you experience a difference between having feelings of compassion and responding with compassion in life situations unfolding before you?
4. Recognizing our shortfalls in living out our professed spirituality is important if we want to keep growing. When you reflect on the gap between your spiritual practices and how you apply spiritual wisdom in your life, what are your obstacles? (Anger, judgment, patience, acceptance, compassion, mercy etc.)

Biblical Context

Luke 3:10-18
Margaret Nutting Ralph PHD

Last Sunday we read Luke’s description of John the Baptist’s role as

“A voice of one crying out in the desert:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord… “(Luke 3:4)

Between that reading and the reading for this third Sunday of Advent, Luke’s Gospel tells us more about John’s message. It is this message, omitted in the Lectionary, that causes the crowds, the tax collectors, and the soldiers in today’s Gospel to ask, “What should we do?”

John the Baptist’s preaching centers heavily on repentance and judgment. When the crowds come to hear John’s message he calls them “a brood of vipers” (Luke 3:7) and warns them to change their lives: “Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance— Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire” (Luke 3:8a, 9). So when those in the crowd ask, “What should we do?” they are asking what they should do to produce good fruit so do?” they are asking what they should do to produce good fruit so that they will avoid punishment when the Lord comes.

Notice that the people who are listening and responding to John’ message are not the Pharisees and scribes, leaders in the community who were held in high esteem. Rather, Luke tells us that “tax collectors” and “soldiers” were anxious to mend their ways, those marginalized by their fellow Jews because they imposed Roman authority on a subject people. As we read Luke’s Gospel we will notice over and over that he emphasizes inclusion. Those who are marginalized are sought out. This is part of Luke’s theme: even Gentiles are now invited into a relationship of covenant love with God.

John the Baptist’s response to the question “What should we do?” is important both for what he says and for what he fails to say. When those in the crowd ask, “What should we do?” John does not tell them to observe the law more scrupulously but to give generously to those in need. When the tax collectors ask, “What should we do?”

John does not tell them to stop collecting taxes but to collect only what is prescribed. When the soldiers ask, “What should we do?”, John does not tell them to stop being soldiers but to carry out their duties with integrity: “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”

John the Baptist has such a powerful effect on the people that they begin to wonder if John himself might be the coming messiah. John clearly denies this possibility: “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” We will not learn more about the distinction between the two baptisms that John is making until we read the Acts of the Apostles, the second part of Luke’s two-volume work.

II will not learn more about the distinction between the two baptisms that John is making until we read the Acts of the Apostles, the second part of Luke’s two-volume work.

In Acts we read that when Paul was in Ephesus, he found some disciples and asked them, “Did you receive the holy Spirit when you became believers?” (Acts 19:2). When they replied that they had never heard of the Holy Spirit Paul asked how they were baptized: “They replied, ‘With the baptism of John.’ Paul then said, ‘John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus'” (Acts 19:3b-4). Paul then baptized the people in the name of “the Lord Jesus” (Acts 19:5b). In terms of experience, the difference between the two baptisms was power. The people were now able to speak in tongues and to prophesy.

In Luke’s Gospel, John the Baptist is the one who announces the coming of Jesus, not only as Jesus’ public ministry begins but, even while John is still in the womb (see Luke 1:44). For this reason, you may find it puzzling that after hearing about Jesus’ mighty acts from his own disciples, John sends messengers to Jesus to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” (Luke 7:19).

Scripture scholars suggest that perhaps even John was surprised that Jesus, as he taught the people, stressed mercy, and forgiveness more than he stressed wrath and judgment. As today’s reading comes to an end, we see that John describes Jesus’ ministry in harsher terms than those in which Jesus will live out that ministry: “His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” As we continue to read Luke’s Gospel, we will notice that instead of calling sinners “a brood of vipers,” Jesus will try to have dinner with them. 

Repenting Forever

Spiritual Commentary
John Shea

Spiritual development always entails both understanding and action, mental realization and behavioral integration, interior illumination, and outer righteousness. In the life of any individual these two aspects are always interacting, coming together and breaking apart in myriad ways. The standard connection is the logical movement from understanding to action. For example, if people love their neighbors, they will share their resources with them. The interior love manifests itself in handing over the second coat. Although thinking like this abounds in moral theology, things are never quite this simple.

A different connection is established when the seekers ask for an action plan, “What are we to do?” and the teacher is willing to provide one. Then the seekers try to implement the action plan. In doing this, they have to return again and again to their interior consciousness. When action is abstractly conceived, it always unfolds without a hitch. But when action is concretely engaged, it hesitates and stumbles.  

Although there are always exterior factors to take into account and reevaluate, seekers invariably discover mental blocks. Their desire to do an action is undercut by their own mental conditioning. Therefore, they are thrown back into the reciprocal flow between understanding and action, mental realization and behavioral integration, inner illumination and outer righteousness.

We can imagine the spiritual paths of these groups of people who made the mistake of asking John what they should do. The crowds would find themselves holding onto their second coat and extra bread and old sandals, etc. “What is enough?” they might ask themselves. ‘Do I jeopardize myself for someone who hasn’t worked as hard as I have?” The tax collectors have done well with their thumb on the scale. ‘Can we take a cutback in revenue? Is not this the expected way of doing things? Soldiers, by definition, push people around.  After all, they don’t teach dancing. Who would know they were soldiers if they stopped bullying people, threatening to denounce them falsely, and making a little on the side? Their pay is meant to be supplemented in this way. When we attempt to change morally, we have to sustain different behavior on the outside.

The spiritual teacher knows any outer action will inevitably lead to the discovery of inner reluctances and obstacles. John the Baptist is about removing obstacles. The first step toward removing obstacles is discovering them. There is no better way to uncover inner blocks than trying to do something that entails a change in the way we have previously worked. What seems like simple advice from John the Baptist becomes a journey of self-discovery.

There is poignancy in the character of John the Baptist. He correctly understands that he is not the Messiah but the forerunner of one mightier than himself. He must learn from that one, for he is not fit to loosen his sandal strap. This attitude of learning from the One Who Is to Come will be important, for what John envisions will not be what will come about.

John foresees a baptism in “the Holy Spirit and fire.” But he mistakenly assumes this Holy Spirit and fire means judgment and destruction. The Holy Spirit becomes a rough wind that separates the wheat and the chaff when the winnowing fan lifts it into the air, and fire awaits the combustible chaff. Wind (Holy Spirit) and fire work together to separate the good from the bad and to reward the good and punish to the bad.

However, when Jesus comes, he will be the source of the Holy Spirit and fire in a quite different way. He will connect people to God so that the Holy Spirit can work through them to such a degree that people will see their “good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” This Holy Spirit will inspire and direct their lives providing the commitment to carry out John’s agenda of reform. The Holy Spirit is the spiritual energy to share with others and not oppress them. This is the fire that both purifies every moral effort and provides the passion to persevere. It is a fire that burns without burning out, the fire of the bush that energized Moses in his relentless efforts to free the people from slavery (Exod 3:2).

Selections from Breaking Open the Lectionary: Lectionary Readings in Their Biblical Context for RCIA, Faith Sharing Groups, and Lectors—Cycle C, by Margaret Nutting Ralph, Copyright © 2006 by Margaret Nutting Ralph. Paulist Press, Inc., New York/Mahwah, NJ. Reprinted by permission of Paulist Press, Inc. www.paulistpress.com.

Spiritual Commentaries and Teachings are excerpted from The Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers by John Shea © 2004 by Order of Saint Benedict. Published by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota. Used with permission.