How would you evaluate your 2018?
This time of the year is one of transition. We often contemplate the year gone, as well as consider the year to come. How would you evaluate your 2018?
In our gospel reading (Luke 3:1–14), John the Baptiser prepares the way for Jesus’ ministry. He uses the word picture of people as trees producing fruit (Luke 3:8). He might suggest we evaluate our year based on the “fruit” produced. This should make sense to the farmers among us: often a year is judged by the amount of harvest produced. With the drought, 2018 was an “average” year, to be kind. The “fruit” John speaks about is not apples or wheat or head of lamb. The “fruit” is the outcome of your actions as God’s hands and feet in the world.
God calls us to four places to serve him: family, work, community, and church. I’ve thought about my year. In my family life as a husband and father, I too often neglected my wife/children. There were times I was stressed and lost my temper. In my work as a pastor I also failed. I can’t visit everyone, and perhaps prioritized this poorly. I wasted time on projects which didn’t eventuate. Some sermons were less clear than others. As a town/community perhaps not much changed. The same events were run. We’d hoped to sell 250 sausages at the Community carols, but only cooked up 150. At church the harvest was also fairly “average,” to be kind. Just a handful of baptisms, no confirmations (though some young people are being prepared). We had a couple of people interested in an evangelism course, but no one attended. There have been mistakes made and people hurt. Like 2018 for the farmers, my year was pretty dry and dusty, fairly “average,” to be kind.
How was your year? Let’s weigh up the fruit and record the harvest. Use your hand to record your score:
Said “I’m sorry” or “I forgive you” +1
Read your Bible every other day +1
Gave 10% of your income to the church or charity +1
Personally gave clothing to a homeless person +1
Visited someone in hospital +1
Visited someone in jail +1
Personally told a non-Christian Jesus died for them +1 (each)
Complained about your pay/financial circumstances -1
Spoke ill of someone -1
Judged another person -1
You have >5 points and are feeling proud -5
This little exercise is a bit of fun, but I also hope makes us uncomfortable. The Christian life is not a life of contemplation or thoughts or feelings. The Christian life is one of action. God has acted through what Jesus has done for us, and we in turn are called to act for the sake of others. How was your harvest this 2018?
Produce fruit or be cut off at the root
As we’ve seen, producing fruit is easier said than done! Like me, you might look back at your year and become discouraged with the seemingly average harvest. But John’s teaching goes on, and gets worse! He says, “The axe 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.” (Luke 3:9). Not only are we commanded to produce good fruit, but if we don’t, the bad trees are to be cut down. The axe is already at the root. The sharpened head is resting on the trunk ready to go. The axe just needs to be pulled back and swung. Produce fruit or be cut off at the root!
To prepare the way for Jesus, John preaches this law-laden sermon. He calls the congregation a “brood of vipers.” He says the “axe is at the root,” ready to cut down. He then gives a clear set of ethical instructions, a way to live. All this is law heavy.
The law:
- tells us what we are to do,
- makes demands,
- is conditional,
- threatens,
- does not offer help.
In contrast the gospel:
- tells us what God is doing,
- makes no demands,
- is unconditional,
- promises life & salvation,
- gives faith to help.
Is there any gospel in what John proclaims? Yes! Praise be to God!
The good news
(1) God produces fruit through you. John accused the crowd of drawing on their strengths, resting on their laurels. The crowd was saying, “We have Abraham as our father” (Luke 3:8). They were essentially saying, “Of course we have good fruit, we’re children of Abraham. That’s enough.” But John says that’s not enough. Humans have no strength to produce fruit. It’s like saying, “My grand-father was a farmer. So I’m going to plant this seed, then I’ll make the sun shine and send the rain.” We don’t produce fruit in our strength, only God brings the harvest. Let me be clear: no amount of good deeds will earn God’s love, Jesus has already freely won this on the cross. But God works through you to be his hands and feet. This is what John means when he says, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (John 3:8). Repentance means to fall to your knees with empty hands and cry out, “Help me Lord! I can’t do this myself, I need you to help.” Fruit in keeping with repentance is not produced in our strength, but in God’s strength. This is why St Paul talks about the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, …) — it’s the Spirit’s fruit (Galatians 5:22–23). God does all the work through you.
(2) Producing fruit is a team effort. When John says, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” we miss something in the English. The “produce fruit” is plural. In southern USA they might say, “Produce fruit y’all,” or here we might say, “Hey youse, produce fruit.” Producing fruit is not a single player game, but a team effort. This is exactly why God has created the church — we’re here to encourage and support each other. We each have different functions, gifts, and callings. God uses us as a collective to produce fruit for his kingdom.
(3) Produce fruit where you are. The crowd is moved by John’s law-based message. They ask, “What then shall we do?” (Luke 3:10,12,14). His answer is surprising and grace filled. John doesn’t tell them to start wearing camel hair, take up a diet of locusts and honey, and relocate to the wilderness, like he’s done. Rather they’re encouraged to live their lives as faithful, fruitful servants where God has already placed them: as servants, tax collectors, soldiers. God calls you to the same. You’re not told to live in a monastery. Rather God has placed you in your family, work, community, and church. God will produce fruit through you in these four places. I wonder how you will show God’s love in these places throughout 2019!?
(4) The time is now! John tells us the axe is at the root of the trees. Produce fruit or be cut off at the root! But the axe hasn’t cut the trees down yet. John doesn’t say our time is up, rather the time is now! Now is the time for action. So let us turn to God, repent of our failings, and ask for his strength. We’re going to do this in corporate prayer in just a moment, but I also encourage you to find half an hour this week to sit with God and earnestly ask him through prayer to produce his fruit through you this year. How amazing will 2019 be if God has 5/10/100 people in this community asking him to produce good fruit for his kingdom?!
Blessing
God promises to produce good fruit through you. The Holy Spirit will transform us, his team, into his vessel of love. God calls us to produce good fruit where he has placed us, starting right now. Our time isn’t up, but the time is now! May you be fertilized and nourished by God’s Word, so that through this team, God can produce good fruit for His kingdom. Amen.
