Romans 15: 4-13         Rev. Dr. Galen E. Russell III

Matthew 3: 1-12             December 7, 2025

“Bear fruit worthy of repentance.”

Prayer: O God of Advent, please help us get ready for you to arrive in our lives at any time. Amen.

 Yesterday, was the Elizabethtown Holiday Parade. Thanks to our Marketing and Evangelism Team took who had the task of preparing our float. They designed it based on the assigned theme of ‘holiday traditions’ and included Christmas caroling and our tradition of lighting Advent candles.

There’s another holiday tradition that intrigues me. Do you remember doing Advent calendars? Back in the day, we used to open the little door to whatever day it was, and see part of the Jesus nativity story, and we got a piece of chocolate! Memba that?

Nowadays, you can find Advent calendars with the nativity story and chocolate, but there are all kinds of Advent calendars. There are some with toys for the kids. There are some with different kinds of beauty creams. Last year a good friend and I enjoyed a whisky Advent calendar, with different types of whisky.  And, I read that Trader Joes even sells an Advent calendar for dogs! With doggy treats!

I guess I’m intrigued because Advent these days is made out to be fun with toys and sweet with candy. Our culture uses Advent to sedate us with sweet treats and smooth skin, enjoyable spirits, and satiated dogs as we count down the days before Christmas.

 But when our reading from Matthew has John the Baptist as a wild and crazy man shouting out “Repent!” and “You brood of vipers!” Advent is anything but sweet and sedate. John spotted the Pharisees and Sadducees coming a mile away. Not because they wanted to change lifestyles! And he saw that they came out because it was trendy. And, maybe because they thought they were favored by God and got extra credit or something. But, John has nothing to do with that! He sees right through them and shakes them up!

See, I think Advent is a time that can really shake things up. It calls us to move away from the trendy. It can get things ready for the coming of God’s realm by first cleaning out the junk (from last Sunday), and then engaging in repentance. I know. Not crazy and quiet time.

 I remind us that to repent means to turn around. And come to God and to embrace God’s ways. It means turning away from anything that harms our spiritual life with God, our neighbors, or ourselves. It does NOT mean ‘stop being bad and start being good or else God will kick you to the curb.’ No, that’s not repentance. That sounds more like a threat to me instead of good news.

To repent is to change one’s heart and mind. To discipline ourselves to recognize what is detrimental to God’s values. And then, stand firm with God. I wish people could repent from getting sucked into what is trendy in our political and religious circle society these days, which is the mentality, “If you don’t agree with me, you’re my enemy.” Repentance means turning away from religious bullying toward others as role modeled by some of our national leaders’ writings and rhetoric. I mean it’s really sad, I think, that we’re living through a time when political and evangelical leaders integrate militant language into their understanding of Christianity, label those who disagree as needing to be crushed, and then calling that righteousness, and list the brutality of the medieval Crusades as a righteous example!

 Repentance turns us away from that. Repentance calls us to be better than that. Repentance points us to embrace new thoughts. New considerations that lead us toward God’s vision becoming our reality.

It’s the vision that Isaiah had, that John the Baptist had, that Jesus had, that Paul had.  It’s the dream of God’s extravagant welcome and inclusivity. This vision has pluralism in it, where Christ is God’s gift for the Jew and non-Jew. Where God’s righteousness and peace flow through everything. And we’re influenced by God’s steadfast love. We strive to live in harmony with each other. Live with diversity, equity, and inclusion, and justice. That’s the vision, and everyone is welcome to share the deep joy that comes with God’s realm. That’s the good news God has for the world at Jesus’ birth.

 How do we get to that joy? How do we help the vision become real? John the Baptist shouts out: “Bear fruit worthy of repentance.” I wrestled with the meaning of that phrase this week. I think it means that repentance is a good thing—so let’s make repentance worth our while. It’s spiritually disciplining ourselves to align with God’s values, to do good for others, and strive for more of that good growth. It’s changing hearts and minds to produce more goodness, and that goodness justifies the spiritual repentance. 

So the sometimes difficult act of turning away from the negative stuff, or the misguided stuff? When the result is a new peace within, or a new sense of value for others, or new ideas on what can become traditional, repentance becomes worth the effort. That’s what I think this phrase means. Bear fruits that are worthy of the task of repentance.

 An easy example I think is the trend of hanging up the tree ornament or slapping on the bumper sticker that says, “Keep Christ in Christmas” and calling it a day. Of course, “Keep Christ in Christmas” is intended to be the Christian’s response to the commercial Christmas. Which sounds good and all.

But what good does it do if we simply go along with the cultural trend, say we’re keeping Christ in Christmas, and not let the realm of God that Christ brings shape our values? Create a transformation within us? 

A more tricky example might be to discern how we are role models of God’s ways for others. Which means our actions which often reflect our inner spirit can produce either good fruit in others or not so good fruit in others. I mean there’s no question that there’s good and bad fruit.

Barb and I have eight grandchildren, and three of those families have two or more kids. I can’t tell you how many times the oldest boy does something, and the second child does, it or tries to do exactly the same thing. Now, when that is a good thing, it’s like bearing good fruit. But, when it’s not a good thing, the duplication is like bearing not so good fruit. So I, Bapu, [that’s my name my grandkids call me] have said to the oldest boys on several occasions, “Now your sister or your brother is watching you, following you. So when you do good things, your sister will do good things, but if you do bad things, she will do the same bad thing. So do the good thing so she can learn from you.” Sometimes the oldest one listens and does the good thing, producing good fruit… and sometimes… not so much. It’s all a work in progress.

 And of course, all of us are works in progress, aren’t we? All of us have wheat in us and chaff in us. All of us have good fruit which produces more good, and we have the not so good that produces not so good fruit.

But, our wild and crazy brother John the Baptist tells us that while he baptizes with water for repentance, Jesus is coming and will baptize with the Holy Spirit. And John says that Jesus will keep what is the good fruit in us and winnow out our bad fruit, our regrets, our missteps, our mistakes, our sins.

 So, Jesus will create a new way, a new transformation that can produce a fresh good fruit for us that John’s baptism can never produce. So, repent, and bear good fruit, friends. That’s much more than a holiday tradition. That’s a way of life, for every day. Amen.