Belmont University Advent GuideSample

Well, those are some interesting Scriptures to read in the midst of “the happiest time of the year.” There is no getting around it, today’s selections have a lot of death, destruction, and judgment. But the one that stuck out to me is Luke 3.1–20, the proclamation of John the Baptist.

Luke starts with all the rulers of the day, from Rome itself, down to Jerusalem and its local elites. But it is out in the wilderness, far from the centers of power, where Luke’s narrative lingers. There, John speaks God’s word, “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3.4).

Now, John the Baptist was the kind of preacher perfectly willing to call his crowd a “brood of vipers” (3.7) if he thought they needed it! But the kicker to the repentance and forgiveness he proclaims is that it has to have results: “Bear fruits worthy of repentance,” he says (3.8–9). Do not rest on your comfortable insider status and Abrahamic privilege—get out there and do something!

All John’s fiery rhetoric of judgment comes down to a simple challenge: love. When the people ask what they should do, he is straightforward. If you have two coats, share one with someone who is cold. If you have some food, share it with someone who is hungry. In your business dealings, treat people with justice, honesty, and kindness (3.11–14).

As I have witnessed the conflicts of our world over the past year, I have struggled with hopelessness. I have wanted to give up and cry or, at times, to shout down fire and brimstone upon it all. But the truth is, we are locked, as always, into the eternal battle of love versus fear.

And I think we have been shown pretty clearly where God stands. Particularly as we anticipate the birth of Emmanuel, God with us, who came into the world as the most vulnerable of human beings: a helpless infant born into a poor family, who soon became a refugee, his family fleeing for their lives from a ruler seeking to cement his power through violence.

Love versus fear: that is the sum of it. Which do we choose to guide what we do? That choice, our choice, shapes the world. “Whoever has two coats . . . Whoever has food”—may we, this Advent and always, choose love as freely as the One whose coming we await.

Amanda C. Miller
Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies