It seems to me that the words of warning by John the Baptist in today’s Gospel are as clear as they can be; in fact, they are likely to sound very somber to many of us! John spoke of the coming of Jesus and he proclaimed that Jesus would use a “winnowing fan” in order to “clear his threshing floor” (see Luke 3:17).
These images were easily understood by those who harvested wheat for a living. The agricultural people who first heard John’s preaching would have completely understood his analogy. They knew that if used properly by the harvester, the winnowing fan would separate the good grains from those that were nearly useless. Those remains of the harvest, “the chaff,” would then be swept away from “the threshing floor” and would either be mixed in with the fodder fed to animals and/or simply be incinerated like rubbish.
Because they were “sinners,” some of those in John’s audience might have understood themselves to be akin to the unworthy and useless, good-for-nothing chaff. As they listened to John, who did not mince his words, they may have seen themselves as “the chaff that would be burned with unquenchable fire.”
Could it be possible that such people were not worthy to receive the presence of Jesus into their lives? Of course, this is exactly opposite of the real message of John the Baptist–the one who came to preach repentance from sins and of hope for a new life in Jesus! As we hear his message today, we are invited to have a similar hope.
Unfortunately, there are still many people who believe they are destined to be treated in the same way as the “chaff” of the harvest. Such people may believe they are unable to be lifted out of the darkness of sin and despair. They might live with self-perceptions of great sinfulness, with addictions, with weaknesses and with other such difficulties that cause them to be demoralized and to suffer from low self-esteem and self-hatred. Some of these people may simply have come to the conclusion that they are destined for eternal damnation simply because of who they are, where they have been, or because of what they have done in their pasts.
In contrast to such thinking, John’s real message, one that is affirmed by the words of the Prophet Zephaniah in our first reading today, is that God graciously invites all people to turn away from all that might enslave them, and instead to live in freedom and in happiness! Zephaniah proclaimed “shout for joy, O daughter Zion . . . sing joyfully . . . be glad and exult with all your heart . . . the Lord has removed the judgment against you, he has turned away your enemies . . . you have no further misfortune to fear . . . do not be discouraged” (see Zephaniah 3:14-16).
This is the very “good news” that John in fact was preaching. He promised the people that all they had to do was resolutely turn away from “disorders” of the past. The warning of John then was simply meant to encourage people to look with confidence to the future, and to the One who would bring salvation to the whole world.
My friends, there is no need to fear that we who have faith will suffer the fate of the “chaff.” Instead, let us rejoice because we believe that we are like those precious golden grains of wheat held close to the heart of the harvester! Therefore, as we continue this journey through Advent, we pray with enthusiasm: “Come Lord Jesus, Come!”
Praise God! Friar Timothy
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