Tree Work

Isaiah 11:1-10 Matthew 3:1-12

12/4/16
Bellingham First Christian Church
Rev. Gary Shoemaker

I find it interesting that in

both our gospel lesson and
the lesson from Isaiah, there's
a reference to trees. I've been
thinking a lot about trees this
past year or so. I've got 25 or
so trees planted in our
backyard that have really
taken off in growth. They've
grown so much that our view
of the Canadian Cascades has
been obliterated. So the
pruning have begun, and I'm
only a little over halfway
done. I've already taken over
2,500 pounds of branches
away (I know because they
charge me by the pound.)

The difference in the two

scripture lessons couldn't be
more pronounced. In one,
there is hope for a righteous
branch to spring up bringing
hope and new life. The other
one has a very foreboding
feel to it... Even now the ax 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.
One announces the coming of
a promised one, and the other
announces the coming of a
promised one. Wait. That
can't be right. And yet it is.
Both are spoken in the hope
of one to come who will
change the future.

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The choice is ours. Is it a time

of new growth or cutting
away dead wood.
Our lives are filled with
choices. From one
perspective, you could say
everything we do is a choice.
Those everyday, mundane
choices dont seem to faze us
much. Its the Robert Frost,
two-roads-in-a-wood kind
of choices that can stump us
(so to speak). We want to
know where each road leads
before we make such a
momentous decision.
Whether we like it or not, the
message of Advent presents
us with precisely that kind of
choice: whether we will align
our lives with what God is
doing in our world, or
whether we will simply go

along with the way things

are. Will there be new
growth from an old stump, or
will there be the destruction
of what has already grown,
but not produced.
We normally talk about
Advent as a time of looking
forward. In Advent were
looking forward to something
better than the injustice and
violence and suffering all
around us. Were looking
forward to someone better
who will set things rightfor
everybody.
But even that involves
choice. When we look
forward to the kindness and
generosity and compassion of
our God being fulfilled for all
the peoples of the world, we
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have to take a look at

whether the kind of people
we choose to be contributes
to that coming new world.
This week we are confronted
with the fact that this
something better that we
are looking forward to also
affects our everyday lives.
Both of our scriptures
describe the something
better that Gods agent will
bring into this world in very
concrete terms. God is on the
move and that movement
involves peace, it involves
justice, it involves taking care
of the poor and displaced.
Over and over again the
Scriptures bear witness to the
faith that what God is doing
in our world is about mercy
that is tangible, compassion

in action. It is about creating

justicethat way of life that
makes it possible for
everyone to thrive equally. It
is about those who have more
than enough sharing with
those who dont have enough.
It is about generosity and
kindness, not just in spirit but
also in practice. Whether we
know or not and whether we
like it or not, what God is
doing in our world affects the
choices we make about the
way we live our lives
everyday.
To some, that may not be
good news. There's going to
be some cutting at the roots
for some of us. Some of us
would prefer to keep what
God is doing in the world
firmly in the realm of a nice
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idea that makes you feel

warm and fuzzy inside.
Wed rather not have to make
the connection between our
faith and our daily lives. I
think this kind of
disconnect is what John
the Baptist had in mind with
his rather harsh
condemnation of the
Pharisees and Sadducees, the
Jewish religious leaders.
Now, in the first place, we
should recognize that not all
the Jewish leaders were
antagonistic toward Jesus
and the early Church. And
we should also recognize that
not all the Jewish people
were hostile toward them. In
fact, the crowds who were
coming to John to be
baptized in preparation for
the advent of Gods

messenger of justice were

almost exclusively Jewish.
But I wonder what these
particular Jewish leaders
were doing there. Were they
like many religious
professionals there to sneer
at the unenlightened masses
who were so easily led
astray by a religious fanatic
like John? Or were they
there as spiesgathering
information to use against
John in order to lock him up
at the right time? Or did
some of them perhaps get
caught up in the spirit of the
seasonthe season of
anticipating the coming
Messiah? Did some of them
actually present themselves
to John for baptism
perhaps in the expectation
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that the more people showed

up, the sooner the Messiah
would come? Its hard to say
exactly what motivated them.
But one thing seems to be
clear from Johns response
they really didnt have a clue
what he was about. John was
there to prepare the people
for the coming of the Lord
which would be a time when
wrongs would be righted,
and injustices would be
corrected. It would be a time
when oppression would come
to an end and violence would
be no more. And what
perhaps many of those who
showed up for Johns
revival apparently failed to
connect was that the coming
of Gods messiah and Gods
kingdom and justice meant

they would have to change

their waysto bear fruit
worthy of repentance (Matt.
3:8). Because they were all
part of an unjust system, they
would either have to choose
to change their ways, or they
would have to choose to
ignore what God is doing in
the world.
Whether we like it or not, the
repentance that Gods justice
confronts us with is about
choosing sides; its about
where our allegiance lies.
That starts with the kind of
people we choose to be, but it
also extends to what we
actually do. Whether we like
it or not, the coming of Gods
justice and peace into this
world presents us with a
road not taken kind of
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choice. If our allegiance is

with the coming of Gods
justice and peace in this
world, then we need to face a
hard reality: that choice
entails choosing not to
continue pursuing the selfish
ways of this broken world,
even when its running
around pretending to be
Christian by celebrating
Christmas.
Lets start this year by trying
to find ways we can reduce
the amount of money we
spend on ourselvesand
increasing what we give to
those who are in need. That
can start right after worship
in the Alternative Christmas
Fair. Giving a life changing
gift in the name of a loved
one to someone somewhere in

the world in desperate need.

Lets start by teaching our
children and grandchildren
that they can be just as happy
with less as they can with
excessin fact, they can be
happier! Lets make the
choices that are consistent
with looking forward to the
kindness and generosity and
compassion of our God being
fulfilled for all the peoples of
the world. Let's choose the
way of peace, which is not
usually the popular choice.
It's not always the most
patriotic choice. But it is the
ways of God. Being a
follower of Jesus means that
we have to live a different set
of choices. Choosing peace,
choosing justice, choosing
compassionate action. Lets
choose to be on the side of
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that something better that

Isaiah prophesied and for
which John the Baptist
prepared the way.
Keep your tree healthy and
productive. Keep yourself
walking in the ways of God.
And may peace abound.

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