The Third Sunday of Advent Year C

The Third Sunday of Advent

Luke 3.7-18

Gaze on all these people arriving at last by the river where John is busy baptizing the penitents. They run on eagerly, but when they get within earshot, they rock back on their heels, as he explodes ‘You brood of vipers!’ Is it for this that they came, to be insulted instead of welcomed? Some drift off quite quickly, back home, unwilling to be treated this way. Others stay a little longer, but give up at the severity of John’s pronouncements. Listen to the force behind his words. Listen to their tone of accusation. See the images he conjures up of wrath, the axe, and the unquenchable fire. We are being judged here, and whether we stay or go, the judgement will stand...