The 2nd Sunday in Advent 7-12-25

A Sermon on Matthew 3:1-12 by The Rev. Dr. Judson F Merrell, STS

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ² and saying, „Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.“ ³ This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: „A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‚Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'“ ⁴ John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. ⁶ Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: „You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‚We have Abraham as our father.‘ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹ „I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.“  Matthew 3:1-12

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Last month we had three weeks in a row of baptisms.  It is such a joy to see the Holy Spirit calling people to the font to be claimed by God as a child of His forever.  Baptism is one of those moments where the work of God interacts with us in a variety of ways.  We hear the water being poured into the font and over the head of the one being baptized. We see God working through the parents and sponsors to bring a child to the font and through the pastor who is baptizing.  We hear God’s promises and the promises the parents make to God.  All baptized persons can come to the font and touch the water and make the sign of the cross on their own foreheads, remembering the promises that God made in their own baptisms.

            Baptism is the very death of the sinner inside of us.  It drowns the old Adam and from the water springs forth a child of God who will one day join all the saints in light.  An old tradition in the church is that the person being baptized dressed in black until they were baptized.  Then, and only then, did they put on a garment of white.  It was a visible change that the congregation could see.  Out of death springs forth resurrection.

            In our Gospel today we are once again introduced to John the Baptist.  He is out in the wilderness, dressed like Elijah and baptizing people for the forgiveness of sins.  Matthew tells us that among the crowds were known Pharisees and Sadducees.  The religious elite.  The educated class of the temple.  Those that enjoyed being in control.  It is interesting to note that they also disagree with each other about a very important theological issue:  resurrection.  The Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection of the dead, while the pharisees did. Now if you are a Sadducee, and you don’t believe in resurrection, why get baptized?  They didn’t believe that there was anything beyond this life, and that when you died, your soul died with it and there was nothing else.  In that same vein, why even be religious?  Just go and do whatever you want.

But perhaps this is one of those moments that like us witnessing a baptism, draws all our senses to the work of God.  Why did they come?  Perhaps they wanted “fire insurance” in case their own thoughts were wrong?  Or perhaps deep down they knew God was at work.  I look at this text and I see God at work showing his grace to those that don’t even believe in what God is up to.  And like baptism, it shows that sometimes things need to die so that something else can spring forth.

In our own lives, are there things that need to die so that we can see the work of God doing something new?  What about here in the church?  We are Lutheran.  We like to do things the same way we always have.  To sit in the same pews, to sing the same songs, to use LBW setting 1 until Jesus returns.  But what if a ministry dies so a new ministry can blossom.  Here in the season of Advent we don’t normally focus on resurrection, but it seems to me that our Gospel lesson shows us that God is at work in many and various ways.  The old Adam is dying, and springing forth from the waters of baptism is something new, something wonderful, something that is indeed the everlasting work of God.  As baptized children of God we have had the old Adam in us drowned.  We have smelled, touched, heard, and seen the work of God in our midst.  How much better will it be when one day we live with God Himself, knowing that as baptized children of God we have been gathered as he gathers wheat, and we will stand before his throne of grace and behold his glory forever.  In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

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©The Rev. Dr. Judson F Merrell, STS

   judsonmerrell@bellsouth.net

   St. Peter’s Lutheran Church

   Lexington, SC USA