In next Sunday’s lectionary, the writer of Luke’s gospel tells us about John the Baptist. The passage starts, “John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?…” and ends, “So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people.” In between, John itemises the people who are going to have to change their ways.
But how is this criticism and pain good news? I’ll hazard a couple of tentative answers.
- One is that for the individuals involved, there is the possibility of repentance and changing their ways and being at peace with themselves and God.
- Another is that for everyone, there is the possibility that things could be different, the world could be better.
- Another is that maybe many of the listeners were poor people who had been shafted by tax collectors, or oppressed people who had been mistreated by the Roman army, and so on. They would have heard John’s words as unambiguously Good News.
Also great to see last night’s Match Of The Day on TV, and the pundits’ discussion on punctuation.