Today is the day, the day we wait for all Advent season. It comes as a delightful shock and surprise. In the midst of our Christmas decorations and ritualistic watching of our favorite holiday movies, while buying gifts and settling into the festive spirit of the day, he shows up. This camel hair garment-wearing, locust-eating wild man breaks onto the scene. He is the highly anticipated voice of one crying in the wilderness, and his pronouncements are uncompromising as it grates against our ears. In the middle of signing our favorite Christmas carols, he shouts out, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance!”

When I first began my career as a pastor, those “What Would Jesus Do?” bracelets were popular. Do you remember them? They were a quaint attempt to curb the morality of the people of God. If you were struggling with a decision in life or how to respond to a sudden situation, the idea was you would simply ask, “What Would Jesus Do?” and however you answered the question would guide what it is you do. It had its place, I suppose, but it was a bit unrealistic as a means of shaping behavior, and eventually they died out. Perhaps, a better bracelet to wear would be, “What Would John the Baptist Do?” You could ask that not in response to your own moral quandaries, but in the face of the failures of others. At least the responses you would come up with would be a lot more actionable. After all, this guy ends up in prison for calling out the rich and powerful. And he will not be silenced, no matter who comes along; not the religious leaders of his day or the puppet princes in authority over him.

Now, John is in the wilderness baptizing for repentance… and he is killing it. He is popular. People are flocking out there, confessing their sins and seeking to turn from their ways in preparation for the coming of God. He is not interested in fairweather disciples or curious seekers looking for some casual spiritual experience. He chastises the Pharisees and Sadducees who place all their hope in their genealogy. His call is urgent and profound: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” The rule and reign of God has come and His Kingdom cannot be ignored. There is no time to waste. He calls for repentance, genuine repentance. It is a repentance that bears fruit. Driving his point home, he says, “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Repentance is the mark of the life of all Christians. The very first of the 95 Theses Luther famously nailed to the door of the church says, “When Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” Repentance is not a one-and-done event. It is your life. It is more than just a conversion moment. It is how you endure as those who belong to the Kingdom of God.

Repentance is the faithful response to the Law of God. Repentance is the result of our failure to save ourselves. When you look at yourself, when you take stock of your life, when you examine the things you do and do not do, your thoughts, words, and deeds, and you measure those against the holy commands of God, what do you find? Each and every one of you, no matter your station in life or how long you have been at it, will find you have fallen short, you have failed, failed to live as God calls you to live. You have been unable to fear, love, and trust in God above all things. You seek to find your identity, security, and meaning in the works of your hands, in the desires of your hearts, and in your wisdom or perceived progress. You fail to love your neighbor as yourself, for there are those you have hurt and those you have failed to help when you could.

The commands and decrees of God relentlessly accuse and condemn even your best efforts. I am not saying you are not trying, after all, you are the children of God and you want to be faithful. But as Saint Paul famously said, “I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing…  Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” What he is expressing is the hopelessness of your own work. By the works of the Law, you cannot free yourselves. The image which begins to become clear as you try even more diligently to conform your life to the demands of the Law is that you have no way out, no road to victory by your own means.

The only hope, the only option that does not lead to utter ruin is to repent. Repent, and believe the Good News. It is to confess you cannot do it, so you cling to the one who has done it for you. You cling to your Lord Jesus Christ. This is the whole life of the Christian, turning from your own effort to the gracious working of Christ. For there and only there do we find assurance and perfection. There in His life, death, and resurrection is the promise of forgiveness, welcome, and blessing from God.

John says that our Lord, “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 gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”  The work of Christ is the work of clearing the threshing floor. Now, the threshing of grain is when they would crush what was gathered on the threshing floor. This would crack the unusable chaff off of the good wheat inside. Then they would take the winnowing fork and cast the pile into the air over and over again. The wind blowing through the threshing barn would blow the lighter chaff off to the side and the heavier wheat would fall back into the pile. The chaff was only useful for the fire, while the wheat would be stored in the barn.

This is the work of Jesus. He is clearing His threshing floor, and this place, here today, where His Word is proclaimed and His sacraments are administered, this is the threshing floor. This is where the life of repentance bears its fruit. For as you confess your sins, as you turn from your failure, you find the promises of God at every turn. You find the washing of baptism where you are clothed in your Lord’s righteousness. You find His forgiveness echoing over and again in your ears. You find the very body and blood of Christ declaring that you are the saints of God and heirs of eternal life. The time is urgent. The moment is now. Repent and believe the Good News. The Kingdom of God is at hand.