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“I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is
coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his
sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His
winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and
gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with
unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:11–12
This passage comes just before Jesus is baptized and begins His
public ministry. John the Baptist had been ministering in the
desert of Judea, preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is
at hand!” Many came to him to be baptized with a baptism of
repentance. But when John saw many scribes and Pharisees coming to
him, he said, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the
coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.”
The passage above is John’s warning to them—and to us—about what
will happen if we fail to repent.
At that time, when wheat was harvested, it was left to dry. Then, a
winnowing fan was used to blow the wheat and chaff into the air.
The lighter chaff would blow away, while the grains of wheat would
fall to the ground to be gathered, milled into flour, and used for
baking. John uses this familiar image to depict what Jesus will do
with the righteous and the wicked. The righteous are like the
grains of wheat that will be gathered and brought to Heaven. The
wicked are like the chaff that, once separated from the righteous,
will burn in the unquenchable fire of hell.
Though it is comforting to speak of the glories of Heaven and to
anticipate being brought there by our Lord, it is necessary to also
consider the reality of the unquenchable fires of hell. Pondering
the reality of those unquenchable fires is something we should not
neglect.
In his spiritual classic, The Spiritual Exercises, Saint
Ignatius of Loyola presents a format for a thirty-day directed
silent retreat, considered by many to be the ideal retreat
experience. During the first week of that retreat, the retreatant
focuses primarily upon mortal sin and its consequences—the
unquenchable fires of hell. Why would Saint Ignatius begin his
retreat this way? Because he understood that the foundation of our
growth in union with God is repentance, and repentance requires an
honest and thorough examination of sin and its consequences.
Reflect today on the unquenchable fires of hell, and allow yourself
to foster a burning desire to flee from every sin that leads to
that end. As we enter the second week of the penitential season of
Advent, ponder this warning from Saint John the Baptist. Hear him
speak those words directly to you. We must fear sin and avoid it,
as much as we want to avoid the unquenchable fires of hell. Start
with this foundational truth, so that having fostered deep
repentance, you are ready to turn your heart and mind toward the
glorious promise of Heaven. Jesus, our Just Judge, You hold the
winnowing fan in
Your sacred hand and separate the righteous from the sinner.
Please grant me the grace to see my sin clearly, so that I may
humbly acknowledge it and turn from it with all my might. May I
build this foundation of repentance during Advent, so that
Christmas becomes an even greater time of union with You. Jesus, I
trust in You.
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