A synopsis of the sermon delivered by the Rev. David L. Hicks at St. Paul’s Reformed Episcopal Church on Sunday, December 14, 2003, Advent III. Please read St. Luke 3:7-18.

During the season of Advent, God’s people are encouraged to prepare their hearts for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, but exactly how is this to be done? What are the practical ways that we demonstrate preparedness? John the Baptist raised this question as he prepared Israel for the first coming of Christ. When the multitudes came to him for the baptism of repentance, he forcefully declared, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance…” (St. Luke 3:7-8). John indicated by this that our outward actions are a reflection of the inward attitude of the heart. Our deeds are like fruit on a tree – they come from the nature of the tree itself. Jesus said something similar to this in St. Matthew’s Gospel: “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (12:33-34). The manner in which we treat other people, our actions or inactions all demonstrate what we are truly like inside. Just as an apple tree bears apples because that is its nature, so too what we do stems from our own nature – whether our desire is to please God or please ourselves. Before John would accept the plea of repentance from the crowds, he first wanted to see practical expressions of repentance that were appropriate to their profession.

Many of the people responded correctly to John’s stern address: “So the people asked him, saying, ‘What shall we do then?’” (St. Luke 3:10). John describes the appropriate fruit for one claiming to be repentant. “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.” To the tax collectors, he said, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.” and to the soldiers, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.” All of this is nothing new, really. The ethic found in the Old Testament law required this sort of concern for others. The difficult part is that everyone falls short of this ethic at one point or another. We do not always love God with our whole heart, nor do we always demonstrate love to our neighbor. This is because the nature of the tree must change, so that the good fruit will be produced. It is for this reason that Christ came among us, in order that through his life, death, resurrection and ascension we might obtain a different nature – become different trees – so that God will find the right kind of fruit growing from us.
Amen.