Reflection on Lk 3:9
The axe is already at the root of the trees,
and every tree that does not produce good fruit
will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
What precedes this Bible verse? John said to the crowds coming out to be baptised by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.’” (Lk 3:7-8) In the following verse (v.10), we read: “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. And John answered each one according to his state. The one who had two tunics should share with him who had none, and the one who had food should do the same. Tax collectors, who were looked down upon but had the will to repent, were also given a clear answer. Soldiers asked him the same and they too received an answer.
The axe of death is already at the root of our life, regardless of our age or the position we hold on this short journey of life. John the Baptist does not mention a tree, that is, a man, that produces good fruit, because he assumes that the fruit he bears in this life will have its reward in eternity. John the Baptist points to the tree that does not produce good fruit, and speaks of its fate. It will be cut down and thrown into the fire. He means that such a man will be thrown into the eternal fire. It is a punishment for the bad fruit he has borne.
Because we, all human beings, have spiritual poisoning in us, we all have to repent. We all need to go through the process of purification through true repentance. It means to admit our sin and have it cleansed by the power of Christ’s blood. His blood cleanses us from sin, from our evil works, bad fruit. Therefore, we read in another place: “Unless you repent, you will all perish.” What is repentance? Metanoia means to change our way of thinking. We who have been immersed in Christ through baptism should not follow the thinking of the world, but we should change our mind and make our own the mind of Christ as shown to us in the Gospel. To have this mind in us, we need to allow Jesus Christ to live in our hearts. His Spirit will then wholly penetrate our minds and we will bear fruits that will remain for eternal life. This is the fruit that is said to be a treasure that thieves will not steal, rust will not destroy and moth will not eat. And Jesus adds: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” This treasure comes from the heart, from the pierced heart, from the heart that repents, realizes its guilt before God and before men, and humbly accepts even temporal punishment and gives thanks to God for everything. The life of repentance is not a grim one; on the contrary, it is a joy-filled life, because it gives us a peace here on earth which the world cannot give us.
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