The name of this site is inspired by the text from which one of my first sermons was based. The Gospel reading that day was from Luke 3, but the name is inspired on this particular snippet:
I called the congregation a "brood of vipers." I brought a couple of rocks up in the pulpit. I waved those rocks around in the air above my head. I banged those rocks down on the wood of the pulpit.
If God can make children of Abraham from stones, in opposition to the brood of vipers John the Baptist was talking to, why would He? He would do so for the very reason that John gives the crowds that day: because the people were fleeing from the wrath of God. What do Children of Abraham do about the wrath of God to come? Well, they don't flee from it. On the contrary, they confront it. How do they confront it? They bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
So, if these stones could speak, what would they be saying? They would be repenting. That's bearing fruit in keeping with repentance. And, like St. Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ (cf. Matthew 16:17-18), this repentance is not something that wells up in a person from themselves, but is given to them by God. It can certainly be rejected and denied (as in those who flee from God's wrath and the axe laid at the root of the trees), but it is given by God.
Repentance has two parts: contrition and faith. Contrition is worked by the Holy Spirit as the Law of God shows a person their sin, and He convicts them of it by this means. Contrition guts the man, to the point of wanting to kill off that part which offends God (this is called the "mortification of the flesh"). Faith is given by God to believe solely in Jesus Christ and His merits—His active obedience to the Law and passive obedience by way of His death for the sins of all mankind on the cross (cf. Philippians 2:8)—for salvation. This faith enlivens the man, bringing him out of his mortification to the new life in Christ which is his...by faith.
That is the point of all faithful preaching: to bring the hearer to repentance and to deliver to them Jesus, their Savior, for the forgiveness of their sins. It is to kill by the Law and make alive by the Gospel. You have sinned against God, but God has taken upon Himself the totality of His wrath against you in the person of His Son. I hope that in the reading of these sermons, you hear the Law pronounced against your sin and the predomination of the sweet salve of the Gospel declaring the forgiveness of your sins in Christ (which is why I typically end my sermons with the absolution).
I have since gotten to the point of thinking about the stones that John the Baptist was talking about. There is nothing in the text to say that he was doing anything other than pointing the any of the stones around him as he addressed the crowd. And that is good enough for what he was preaching to the crowds that day. But I often wonder if he was baptizing in the same spot in the Jordan his entire ministry or if he might have gone to one place or another along the Jordan on occasion, if perhaps he could have ever been at the place where Israel crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land, and if, at this particular time, the stones he was pointing toward were the ones from the river that a representative of each tribe stacked as they crossed at the end of the exodus (at Gilgal). They are often referred to as "Remembrance Stones," as, once they had crossed, Joshua addressed the nation of Israel,
It's all pure speculation, which is often fruitless, but it is fun, nonetheless.
But, if these stones could speak..., indeed.
The site is live as of August 21, 2024. Most everything is here and looking almost like I want it to look. To that end, expect that some things might change appearance slightly, and some of the features I want to add are made. Especially while you are visiting, things might go up or down or not work as intended while I make changes and fixes.
in any event, enjoy!
