{"id":9355,"date":"2024-12-10T10:38:04","date_gmt":"2024-12-10T14:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/?p=9355"},"modified":"2024-12-11T10:23:08","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T14:23:08","slug":"advent-justice-toward-one-another","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/socialjesus\/2024\/12\/advent-justice-toward-one-another\/","title":{"rendered":"Advent and Justice Toward One Another, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Advent<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our reading this third weekend of Advent is again from the gospel of Luke:<\/p>\n

John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, \u201cYou brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, \u2018We have Abraham as our father.\u2019 For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welcome Readers! <\/i><\/b>Please subscribe to Social Jesus Here<\/i><\/b><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat should we do then?\u201d the crowd asked.<\/p>\n

John answered, \u201cAnyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even tax collectors came to be baptized. \u201cTeacher,\u201d they asked, \u201cwhat should we do?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t collect any more than you are required to,\u201d he told them.<\/p>\n

Then some soldiers asked him, \u201cAnd what should we do?\u201d<\/p>\n

He replied, \u201cDon\u2019t extort money and don\u2019t accuse people falsely\u2014be content with your pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. John answered them all, \u201cI baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.\u201d And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.\u00a0 <\/span>(Luke 3:7-18)<\/p>\n

In our reading, John calls the people to bear fruit worthy of their claim to have changed. Repentance involves change. Socially, this bears out. For us as a society to repent of past wrongs, we must change the parts of society that are still participating in those wrongs. To fail to bring about change is to act in a way that contradicts repentance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Later in Luke\u2019s gospel, Jesus tells us that we can assess whether someone seeking to influence our communities is a \u201cgood tree\u201d or a \u201cbad tree,\u201d and the test is simple: what kind of fruit does the \u201ctree\u201d produce?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. A good person brings good things out of the good stored up in their heart, and an evil person brings evil things out of the evil stored up in their heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. (Luke 6:43-45)<\/p>\n

Character matters. Years ago I read part of Mohandas Gandhi\u2019s autobiography where Gandhi rejects a Christian salvation that is only concerned with a \u201cpenalty for sin.\u201d What Gandhi was questioning is whether Christianity offered any wisdom for how to bear different fruit in our lives. He was in dialogue with a Plymouth Christian who told him that change was impossible and the only hope was to be freed from the consequences of our actions. I agree with Gandhi that this is unacceptable:<\/p>\n

\u2018If this be the Christianity acknowledged by all Christians, I cannot accept it. I do not seek redemption from the consequences of my sin. I seek to be redeemed from sin itself, or rather from the very thought of sin. Until I have attained that end, I shall be content to be restless.\u2019\u00a0 <\/span>To which the Plymouth Brother rejoined: \u2018I assure you, your attempt is fruitless. Think again over what I have said.\u2019 (Mohandas K Gandhi; Mahadev Desai, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments With Truth, <\/i>p. 64)<\/p>\n

In our reading this week, John the Baptist isn\u2019t concerned with consequences as much as change. He called his listeners to bear different fruit in their lives. That fruit is what we will be considering, next.<\/p>\n

(Read Part 2<\/a><\/strong>)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Are you receiving all of RHM\u2019s free resources each week?<\/p>\n

Begin each day being inspired toward love, compassion, justice and action. Free.<\/p>\n

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https:\/\/renewedheartministries.com\/Contact-forms\/?form=EmailSignUp<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In our advent reading, for a society to repent of past wrongs, it must also change the where it still participates in those wrongs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4129,"featured_media":9364,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3655,729],"tags":[2647,624,2720,284,2408,58],"class_list":["post-9355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advent","category-liberation-theology","tag-advent","tag-change","tag-lectionary-reading","tag-liberation-theology","tag-repentance","tag-social-justice"],"yoast_head":"\nAdvent and Justice Toward One Another, Part 1<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In our advent reading, for a society to repent of past wrongs, it must also change the where it still participates in those wrongs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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