The crowd asked John the Baptist, What do you want us to do? If you have two coats, he replied, give one to the poor. If you have extra food, give it away to those who are hungry. Even tax collectors notorious for their corruption came to be baptized and asked, How shall we prove to you that we have abandoned our sins? By your honesty, he replied. Make sure you collect no more taxes than the Roman government requires you to. And us, asked some soldiers, what about us? John replied, Don´t extort money by threats and violence; don´t accuse anyone of what you know he didn´t do; and be content with your pay! Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and eager to know whether or not John was he. This was the question of the hour and was being discussed everywhere. John answered the question by saying, I baptize only with water; but someone is coming soon who has far higher authority than mine; in fact, I am not even worthy of being his slave. He will baptize you with fire with the Holy Spirit. He will separate chaff from grain, and burn up the chaff with eternal fire and store away the grain. He used many such warnings as he announced the Good News to the people.
Food for thought!
The crowds asked, What do you want us to do? Tax collectors asked: How shall we prove to you that we have abandoned our sins? Soldiers asked, And us, what about us? These are some of the questions that some people asked John the Baptist. In his preaching, John not only taught but also touched his audience. This is what today´s preachers ought to do: teach and touch the people. Unfortunately, many of today´s sermons are just teachings; they don´t touch the people. A good sermon ought to both teach and touch the people. And John did exactly that.
John taught like Jesus. Jesus taught the people and influenced them forever. This is what it means to say, teach and touch lives for ever! Jesus taught in such a way as to turn the world upside down. Even his enemies accused of him of teaching everywhere: "He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place." (Lk 23:5). Pharisees sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality (Mt 22:16).
Teaching and touching is the tool that Jesus used to transform the world. It is also the tool his followers used to further the transformation began by Jesus. The question that we must make is, if teaching and touching worked yesterday to transform lives, can't it do the same today? Put differently, we must ask the relationship between teaching and touching? Can we have one without the other? Unfortunately, we have separated teaching from touching; we teach but we don´t touch the people. Other times, we touch the people without teaching them. The truth is that we must lean to both teach and touch the people.
If, after listening to or reading our sermons, no one asks themselves the questions asked to John the Baptist (The crowds asked, What do you want us to do? Tax collectors asked: How shall we prove to you that we have abandoned our sins? Soldiers asked, And us, what about us?), then something is terribly wrong, not in the people, in the preacher. Our preachers should teach the mind and touch the heart. The mind is taught to think while the heart is taught to love.
Teaching the mind is good, but it must translate into the heart. For this reason, it is not enough to know; it is equally important to live out the knowledge, that is, to be and to do. A good sermon is not about information alone; it is about formation too. Preaching is about the heart too. Knowing the correct science, possessing the correct information isn't enough; translating the information into life is paramount.
There is only one way in which a man's knowledge can be proved, and that is by his practice. Fine words can never be a substitute for fine deeds. So often we come across knowledgeable people, who contradict what they know by their lives. It is not difficult to know the science; it is very difficult to live out the science. So as we go to churches, as we gather knowledge, we should remember that it is not enough; it is just the beginning. The second part, the heart, is the acting as believing people act. All knowledge only becomes relevant when it is translated into action. Many people perform well at work but not so at home; many people are good executives but not good husbands or wives or neighbours. Many are successful professionals but failed men and women. Knowledge must become action; theory must become practice; science must become life.
Follow up!
Every after food for thought and/or after a sermon, ask yourself: What am I taking from this sermon? How can I put it into practice?
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