December 17, 2012

Luke 3:10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.

This is in response to John the Baptist’s preaching about preparing for what God was about to do. As we watched the coverage last Friday of the killings in Newton CT many people were asking that same question. What should we do about this violence? When 20 children are murdered on a typical Friday morning in December, what should we do? I found myself wondering, “On the previous Friday how many children died of violence in our urban centers throughout the US? How many children died from the collateral damage in countries where the violence of war and political aggression is a daily occurrence? How many died from lack of proper nutrition in third world countries or from lack of clean water or basic medical interventions?” I don’t know the number that is the answer to that question and I don’t want to know. I’m too content to let these deaths go by unnoticed as long as they are not repeated on my radio and TV news. I can accept them when they are beyond the touch points of my personal experience- different races and cultures and customs. I am indeed one of the brood of vipers as John calls the crowd elsewhere in the chapter, one of the brood of vipers in need of a savior. What should we do then? At the very least we should make this question our Advent prayer.