What do we do now? - Father Dave's Blog

“John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ 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; therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:7-9)

Hi Fighter,

This Sunday is celebrated as the ‘Day of Joy’, which might seem like an odd time to give centre stage to John the Baptist. John had a lot of wonderful qualities but was not known for his joyful disposition.

In years past I’ve celebrated John’s annual Yuletide appearance with a greeting card featuring John’s words on the front – “You brood of vipers! Bear fruit that befits repentance” – and “Merry Christmas” on the inside. You can download the card here if you like and send it to someone you don’t like.

As the card suggests, I’ve tended to see John as a sobering counterpart to Santa. John growls while Santa chuckles. Santa gives you presents while John pours water on you and tells you to sober up. It’s a fair depiction, as far as it goes, but it ignores the context of first century Judea. In John’s days, there was just one gift that every one of his people was looking for – namely, an end to the Roman Occupation.

Being a Jew in first-century Judea was much like being a Palestinian in Bethlehem today. Your life was controlled by a foreign occupying power, and it was brutal. Even when there was no open violence, you were always under the thumb of the Roman army. You were a second-class citizen in your own country. You did what the Romans told you to do, you gave them whatever they asked for, and you paid them for the privilege through your taxes. It was humiliating.

We can understand why, in this context, the Roman authorities were highly suspicious of charismatic figures like John. The people were looking for a leader to liberate them, and their Scriptures spoke of a Messiah – another King David – who would reestablish their sovereignty and make their nation great again.

John arrives and invites the masses to join him in the Jordan River – the same river that, generations earlier, the people had crossed under the leadership of Joshua to lay claim the land as their own (Joshua 3-4). I suspect that, even if John had not intended his baptism to be a symbolic reclaiming of the land, the Romans would have interpreted it that way. John must have known that.

With this in mind, it seems that John goes out of his way to show that he was not challenging the Roman Occupation (not directly, anyway). John speaks of a coming time of crisis, and of the coming of the Messiah, but when the people ask him, “what then should we do?”, John does not tell them to sharpen their swords and prepare for battle. Instead, he tells them to show greater kindness towards each other!

“Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” (Luke 3:11)

Most pointedly of all, Luke mentions two (and only two) specific groups of people who approached John, asking for guidance – tax-collectors and soldiers. These people were the bulwark of the Occupation and the enemies of the people!

We might have expected John to respond, “What should you do? Stop working for the Occupiers, of course! Put your sword to better use in the service of your people. Get on the right side of history!” Instead, John tells them not to abuse their power. He says to the tax-collectors, “Don’t collect any more than you are required to” (Luke 3:13) and to the soldiers, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely, and be content with your pay” (Luke 3:14)

Over the last few days, I’ve found myself asking God the same question the people were asking John – “What should we do?” My question comes in the light of the fall of Syria and the collapse of the Axis of Resistance.

Syria has been overtaken and disarmed. Lebanon, I assume, is next, to be followed by Iraq, Yemen and, eventually, Iran. Meanwhile, Gaza will continue to be levelled and plundered, and the remaining Palestinians in the West Bank will either be completely subjugated or forced into Jordan. What then should we do?!

John takes me back to the river where the miracle of liberation begins.

Cleanse yourself! Be the person God has called you to be. Practice generosity. Demonstrate faithfulness. This is not your fight. It was never your fight. This is God’s battle, and God will be true to God’s promises. Liberation, justice, and peace will come. The earth will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. That time is coming, and it may be sooner than you think. For now, though, focus on growing as a soldier of Christ, in integrity and love.

Our Sunday Eucharist

We celebrated a rather unique Eucharist last Sunday. In the middle of the broadcast we were told of the fall of Damascus. I was stunned. The announcement came not long after we had displayed the banners supplied by the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Network, calling for an end to the Gaza Genocide. The irony was palpable.

The news came in while Father Mark, Rob, and I were discussing Malachi’s prophecy of doom – “Who can endure the day of God’s coming?” I’ve posted the recording of that segment below. You’ll forgive me if I lose my composure somewhat after the news of Syria’s collapse comes in. I’m deeply grateful to Mark for leading us in prayer at that point. If not for that, I don’t know how I could have carried on.

You’ll find two ‘shorts’ below. They focus more on the state of affairs in the world than on particular passages of Scripture but, of course, the two are hard to separate. You can watch the entire broadcast (and all our broadcasts) on my YouTube channel. For our shorts library, see the Sunday Eucharist Instagram page.

This Sunday I’m looking forward to having Karyn Hemming and Andrew Logan back with me on the panel. Andrew will be joining us from the midst of an academic bootcamp that his partner, Gigi, is running. God bless them both. The war we are fighting is one with many fronts.

Join us from noon this Sunday on TheSundayEucharist.com or on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn Instagram, Faithia or Streamyard. I look forward to sharing this Eucharist with you.

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What’s On?

Sunday, December 15 – Our Eucharist from noon via thesundayeucharist.com (or through Facebook , YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Faithia or Streamyard).
Tuesday, December 17 – Boxing at The Mundine Gym in Redfern, 7 to 9 pm
Tuesday, December 19 – Boxing at The Mundine Gym in Redfern, 7 to 9 pm

It’s hard to believe that in my newsletter last week I was contemplating a quick stay in Syria after my visit to Iran next month. I suspect now that I may never see dear Syria again. My prayers are with the people – my many friends, and all the members of minority groups who are likely to be targeted by the new regime.

I heard that my friend, Dr Hassoun, the former Grand Mufti of Syria, tried to go to pray at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and was thrown out. At least that means he’s still alive. Meanwhile, those found in army uniforms are being slaughtered across the country. I’m told General Maher al-Assad, leader of the 4^th armoured division and brother of the former President, shot himself before they captured him.

The new Justice Minister, Shadi Alwaisi, has declared that Syria is now under sharia law. The means (amongst other things) that women cannot be judges. All current cases led by female judges will now be handed over to male judges.

Christians have been told that they are not to celebrate Christmas. There are to be no parades and no displays of Saint Nicholas. At the same time, churches are being desecrated and looted across the country. All this courtesy of the rainbow-friendly new face of Al Qaeda, Muhammad Al-Jalani.

In case you missed our webinar, “Syria, What the …?”, I’m including the full replay below. Forgive me for all the disruptions in the stream. I believe I was under some sort of cyberattack for much of the broadcast. No sooner had I logged in than things started going wrong, and I soon found myself locked out of my own broadcast.

Suffice it to say that I came up with a work-around by logging in as a different user via my mobile. This allowed me to regain control. I had been tempted to give up and scuttle the broadcast after the first few minutes. Thanks be to God, we persisted. We had more than 10,000 viewers join the broadcast, and more now watching the archive. I do believe we produced something of value. I hope you benefit from it.

If you’re hungry for more insights into the Syrian crisis, I’d recommend the interview of British Syrian journalist, Richard Medhurst, by my friend, George Galloway. It’s only 15 mins long as and is well worth the listen.

I’m going to leave it here today, my friends. I am tired in body and in spirit. I need to follow the advice of the old hymn and go down to the river to pray.

I can see John there, waiting by the river, ready to wash and refresh me. Join me at the river, sisters and brothers. We’ll meet me at the Binacrombi billabong. We will find rest there, and renewal. We’ll fortify ourselves for the battle that is still to come.

Your brother in the Good Fight,