Daily Lesson for April 15, 2021

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 3 verses 3 through 6 and 10 through 12:

3He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

“Prepare the way of the Lord,

make his paths straight.

5 Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways made smooth;

6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” ’

10 And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ 11In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’ 12Even tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ 13He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’ 14Soldiers 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.’

The hugely-influential-to-me South African pastor Alan Storey says that John was baptizing in the River of Justice.

That is a powerful way to look at what John the Baptist was doing down their in the Jordan valley, as he preached the call to repentance, the dismantling of personal and societal sin, and the reclaiming of community.

Read the first few verses of Luke and we get a sense of what John's justice looked like. The making of a more equal society. The straightening of the crooked. The sharing of what is essential for human life and decency. The establishment of a more just system of taxation. The end of abuse of power.

It was indeed the River of Justice that John was calling the people to come and be baptized in. And his voice is still heard. The altar call has not closed.

May those with the ears to hear John's still-summoning voice come and be baptized . . .

Ryon Price is Senior Pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.