The Kingdom Ethic: Living before God and Humanity

They came to him find him in the wilderness (Lk. 3:1-17). They left the social and economic structures of the city to hear this strange, forceful, prophetic voice. They listened to his pointed preaching and their hearts were pricked. John proclaimed a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, and the people came to the waters. Their voices rose up in repentant response, “What then should we do?”

As we continue to spend time in Luke-Acts, we realize that baptism is not an end for Luke. It is never an end in the Scriptures. Baptism is a beginning. For Luke, baptism is the empowerment for participating in the salvation of God. This empowerment demands that we change our priorities, that the way we live before God and humanity is transformed. It demands that we live baptized lives, lives shaped by the ethic of the kingdom of God. When we do, the kingdom of God is manifested in the world and salvation breaks in all around us.

So as the baptized of God, we lift up our voices with those who went out to John, “What then should we do? How do we live the baptized life? How do we live the kingdom ethic?” In a culture of rampant materialism in which people pride themselves on the needless accumulation of more and more of the newest and latest stuff, the kingdom ethic challenges and critiques our choices and the way we live our lives. John tells us, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise” (3:11). In a culture where people climb over others to can achieve the American dream, he says, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed to you” (3:13). In a culture where money is a power that provides the security once entrusted to God, John says, “be satisfied with your wages” (3:14).

These are hard words for us to hear. They stand against cultural norms and against the stories that try to drive and control the way we think and live. They counter what we see on the television, hear on the radio, and read in advertisements. These are prophetic words of one crying out in the wilderness. Will we hear them? Will we live out our baptism? If we do, if we live according to the kingdom ethic, the values and expectations of the world will be reversed, and people will see the presence of God in their midst. Every valley will be filled, every mountain and hill made low, and the crooked will be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh will see the salvation of God. (3:5-6)