{"id":20385,"date":"2023-01-14T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-14T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/urc-daily-devotionsaturday-14-january-2023"},"modified":"2023-01-14T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-01-14T06:00:00","slug":"urc-daily-devotion-saturday-14-january-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/urc-daily-devotion-saturday-14-january-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"URC Daily Devotion\u00a0Saturday 14 January 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

St Matthew 3: 7 – 12<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, \u2018You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Bear fruit worthy of repentance.  Do not presume to say to yourselves, \u201cWe have Abraham as our ancestor\u201d; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.  Even now the axe 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. \u2018I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.\u2019 <\/span><\/p>\n

Reflection<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In yesterday\u2019s reading, Matthew introduces us to the charismatic character of John the Baptist. With camel\u2019s hair and leather belt, we picture a wide-eyed figure extolling the faithful to repent in the waters of the Jordan.  If the rhetoric wasn\u2019t amped up enough, today\u2019s reading hits a new high. With old-school street-preacher venom, John lays into the approaching Pharisees and Sadducees, saying: \u2018You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Matthew\u2019s narrative here is a metaphorical \u2018changing of the guard\u2019. Yesterday\u2019s reading revealed John as the current protagonist in God\u2019s saving work. Today, the Jewish leadership take centre stage as the new antagonists, following Herod\u2019s demise at the end of chapter 2.   Monday\u2019s reading ushers in the new messiah and our first encounter with the adult Jesus. John\u2019s fiery judgement will give way to stubborn reverence as Jesus too makes his way through the waters.<\/span><\/p>\n

John\u2019s injunction to \u2018Bear fruit worthy of repentance\u2019 is significant, and sets the tone for much of Matthew\u2019s gospel.  Matthew\u2019s John, and his Jesus for that matter, doesn\u2019t do lukewarm. If you claim to be a disciple of Jesus, a Walker of the Way, then it can\u2019t be \u2018all show and no go\u2019. The measure of your faith, and your claim on the saving love of Jesus, can only ever mean as much as what we\u2019re prepared to do, or to sacrifice, to bear fruit for the Kingdom. That might seem a bit \u2019black and white\u2019, but that\u2019s Matthew all over. Better to be wheat left on the threshing floor, waiting to be gathered, than chaff for the fire. <\/span><\/p>\n

Two thousand years on, we may not feel the same urgency as Matthew did as he awaited Jesus\u2019 imminent return, and our theology might be more nuanced than wheat and chaff. But should our zeal to bear fruit worthy of repentance be any less passionate? I sincerely hope not!<\/span><\/p>\n

Prayer<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Saving God, <\/span>
increase our zeal; <\/span>
our hunger; <\/span>
and our longing to bear fruit worthy of your redeeming love.<\/span>
Risen God, <\/span>
deepen our love; <\/span>
our wonder; <\/span>
and our passion for your life-transforming Word.  <\/span>
Cleansing God, <\/span>
remake us; <\/span>
refine us; <\/span>
restore in us your image, <\/span>
through the fire of your Holy Spirit.<\/span>
In the name of Christ.
Amen.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

St Matthew 3: 7 – 12 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, \u2018You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Bear fruit worthy of repentance.  Do not presume to say to yourselves, \u201cWe have Abraham as our ancestor\u201d; for I … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “URC Daily Devotion\u00a0Saturday 14 January 2023”<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20385","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20385"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20385\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20385"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20385"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20385"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}