From the Daily Lectionary for Monday in the Sixteenth Week after Pentecost
Luke 3:1-14
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
Every valley shall be filled,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth;
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”
John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”
The Lectionary has now moved us into the Gospel of Luke. Luke, not unlike the other synoptic writers, is proclaiming a social and economic reversal of the hierarchical system, a radical and new society of equality and mutual regard. In the first chapter Mary, the mother of Jesus, lays out Luke’s agenda: God’s kingdom is imminent; the signs are everywhere: God is routing the arrogant; God is undermining the rule of monarchs and raising up the abused; God is feeding the hungry, and depriving the rich of their opulence. The revolution of Love has begun just as God has promised over the generations.
Luke roots this prophecy in time and place: In the fifteenth year of the Emperor Tiberius’ rule, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea; Herod, prelate of Galilee; and Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests of the Temple. This is history in the making. The context is that this great reversal comes in opposition to empire.
John the Baptizer adds more to this context. Quoting Isaiah, he reminds his followers that this coming reversal is like the repatriation of the people of Israel from Babylonian captivity back into their homeland…. This reversal will be another homecoming for the people; a new liberation, just as they were liberated from their exile in Babylon.
And then Luke describes the first steps to set this revolution in motion: Share your resources with your neighbor; if you are in a position of power, don’t extort, don’t intimidate, tell the truth. Seems so mundane, so simple. But the revolution of Love does not coerce. It does not invoke violence. It simply demands that we live humanely; that we love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
These simple words apply to our own post-modern predicament. They are both literal and metaphorical; personal and institutional. We are being called to the rudiments of our humanity: empathy, compassion, and honesty… all the means of love. Such action heralds the coming of God, no less. Act, brothers and sisters, as if such a simple prophecy is true.
A Prayer for Peace adapted (BCP p. 815)
Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of justice, no strength known but the strength of Love. So graciously spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God, to whom be honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
