Tomorrow's (Advent 2) Gospel from Matthew 3:1-12 presents the picture of John the Baptizer preaching his "baptism of repentance" at the Jordan River, "and the whole district made their way to him."
Yet, in the midst of this story John becomes irate because he sees (probably prominent) Pharisees and Sadducees lining up for baptism. The writer of Matthew seems to assume that his/her readers understand John's anger, but it's not so clear to us today.
He was upset because the Pharisees would believe that they already "had things right with God" but because they believe in the life in the world to come probably figured they should "get baptized" just in case there was something they needed to repent for but didn't know about.
He was upset because the Sadducees (the word means "the righteous ones") also believed they were righteous and not in need of repentance, but they did not believe in a world to come--no afterlife.
John looked beyond their actions and looked into the conditions and intentions of their hearts. They were not there because they truly believed they needed to turn their lives around, but were simply trying to live out the maxim, "better safe than sorry." They were insincere and John knew it.
The message in the story is that it matters how we live. Our intentions and our motivations matter--and how they are lived out in our actions matters also. Let us in this season of sincerity be certain that our love is true, that our wishes for health and happiness are real, and that, where we have the opportunity, that our caring and giving be truly generous and open-handed.
To use a 60's phrase, John's message to us and to our world is "get real." We have more than enough phonies.
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