February 22

John the Baptist Preaches

                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? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. 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 ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?”  In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.”  Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

Luke 3:7-14

            John’s not really one for warming up the crowd.  He has people coming from all over the country, walking miles and miles to see him and he does not express appreciation or concern.  He lights into them, calling them a brood of snakes and railing against their arrogance and greed.  His message boils down to, “You should share what you have and not abuse your power by stealing from others.”  These are lessons that we teach in kindergarten, but the people are cut to the core with the profound nature of John’s message.  Why?  Because that’s not the way the world works.

            What we also learn in kindergarten is how to win: use your advantages; there is only room for one winner; praise comes with high performance; the winning team is the one that does not have a weak link.  It is a great system of development when you are strong, when you can test yourself and achieve and excel above your peers.  I was the kid who was great at everything; highly driven with awards and praise.  I enjoyed my school years and looked forward to going every day.

            That is not the experience of people who are seen as the weak link.  The kids I worked with were always the last one picked for a team because they would forget what game was being played and wander off the field.  Their teammates would groan because they knew that they were a disadvantage and the team would probably lose.  Having them as part of your group project meant that you had to do the heavy lifting in order to get a good grade.  One of my client’s flair for the dramatic meant that at least once during the presentation, he would go off script and launch into a vaudeville act and the class would laugh at you…which school age kids hate more than anything.  School was full of rejection and stress and tears for my crew.  Every day. 

            When success is a finite sum…a single pie if you will…then someone else’s achievement means that there is less available for you.  If you are not the winner then you are the first loser and losing in life brings suffering.  The tax collectors and soldiers used their power and authority to take money and resources and dignity from the common people, raising themselves up by casting others down.  We compete with our peers, our siblings, other groups, other nations or other companies to try and get a larger slice of the pie so that we are not left without.  That only changes if we redefine winning.  When winning is about individual success…about me versus you…we fight for the pie.  When winning is about communal success…about us benefitting together…we create situations where we can all thrive instead of groaning about having to take on the weak link.

            Share what we have with those who lack.  Do not abuse your power and authority by taking from others.  Simple enough statements with profound results.

A moment to reflect:

Where is your child seen as the weak link?  Are there ways that you could change that narrative?