Bear Good Fruit

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume 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. ‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ Matthew 3:7-12

We are dangerous when we rely on our family name, our status or our place in the world. Dangerous because we stop examining our behavior and begin to believe everything we do is right and proper. Some take great pride in their independence, rarely looking back to all the people that help them up, bailed them out and kept them from falling or failing. John doesn't mince words. He tells them and us to bear good fruit and to continue to do so. We cannot stop loving and caring for others and we cannot fail to be grateful for the blessings we have today.

Gracious Creator, you are the source of all love

you shower us with undeserved blessings

you fill us to overflowing with your grace

and hold us when we are aabout to fall.

We often forget all you have done for us

taking pride in what we have accomplished

thinking that we are most important than others

and refusing to be grateful for what we don't deserve.

Help us remember the abundance of your blessings

give us your humility so we might share with others

a broken world needs your love which we have hoarded

break us open so we might make your love known. Amen.

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