“’For now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doth not yield good fruit, shall be cut down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you in water unto penance, but he that shall come after me, is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you in the Holy Ghost and fire. Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor and gather his wheat into the barn; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’”
The axe, consisting of wood and iron, represents Jesus, who is both God and man, and He awaits at the root of the tree of each soul, reaching out with longing to each person, inviting them to come to Him and be loved by Him. When one is obstinate in sin and avoids the gentle Savior, they meet the just judge: “Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). The Lord reaches out both with warnings such as this and gentle words, that any and every message may fall upon the ears of those that are far from Him. O desperate love! He does not need your love, for He is Love, but oh how His pursuit resembles the lover that feels deeply the pains of affection, His every thought on you, His beloved, reaching out constantly when you were far away, racing to your aid when you call, always seeking to draw near to you: “Behold he standeth behind our wall, looking through the windows, looking through the lattices” (Song 2:9). Concerning good fruit, it is important to distinguish between doing good works and acting as a result of love. Let love overflow into good fruit, rather than seek to bear fruit for its own sake. Love cannot be contained, it boils out of the pot and addresses all it sees. This is why, in prayer, asking, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” is far inferior to “Lord, show me how much you love me.” When you see just how much God loves you, it will prompt good work that others may know this same love: “Give, and it shall be given to you: good measure and pressed down and shaken together and running over shall they give into your bosom” (Luke 6:38). St. John the Baptist then addresses the difference between his baptism and Jesus’. John’s did not remit sins, as prefigured by the flood in Genesis, where the waters cleansed the earth, but sin remained in the children of Noah, and continued in the world. It was to show the penitent from the impenitent, to bring forward those who starved for truth and righteousness but lacked a guide, and the beautiful act of humility to submit to John’s baptism could then dispose someone to drawing near to Jesus. Even John himself teaches this, that his was a physical washing that “prepared the way of the Lord” and “made straight his paths” (Isaias 40:3). This was to make the way for Love Incarnate; St. John preached the kingdom, Christ gives it, John preaches repentance, Christ forgives, John baptizes with water, Christ with the Spirit of Love. How little man seems in the face of pure love! Before the infinite abyss of the true depth of God’s love for you, you simply disappear, like a bread crumb thrown into an ocean, yet this is an infinite tenderness, an unceasing affection towards you. Thus, when John says, “I am not worthy to bear his shoes,” he acknowledges that even the great heights of natural goodness to which he reached are less than nothing before Love. So too is every good work that has not love as its source separated by a gulf from an act of true charity, where the heart, will, and mind all act for the glory of God. Now, the gift of the Holy Spirit is an extraordinary one, because the Holy Spirit’s presence in your soul gradually embraces your mind until its every inclination is towards the love of God, and this purifying action is described in the Divine Canticle: “A bundle of myrrh,” a purifying agent, “is my beloved to me, he shall abide between my breasts,” or within the heart (Song 1:12). The Holy Spirit’s presence is the love of God and true love of neighbor within you, which truly washes away that which is hateful, selfish, pleasure-seeking, or vain, because love engulfs all that is contrary to the beloved, that the two may be one. Fire is that of tribulation, not only “that the trial of your faith (much more precious than gold which is tried by the fire) may be found unto praise and glory and honour at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7), but also that suffering is the consummation of love of God. This is why Jesus asks, “Can you drink the chalice that I shall drink?” (Matthew 20:22), and why St. Paul said, “Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you” (Colossians 1:24). The zenith of love is being mounted upon the wood of the cross with your beloved Jesus, with love still very much alive, not complaining, not seeking to come down, not crying out, but with loving acceptance practicing the true presence of God, which is Christ Crucified. When you realize that love is fully alive in trials and afflictions, they become sweeter than honey, signified by the bitter waters of Mara being made sweet by wood, a precursor to the Cross: “But he cried to the Lord, and he shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, they were turned into sweetness” (Exodus 15:25). This fire can also represent the one in your heart, because to burn with love and zeal and follow the flame that is your guide is to live on love. These trials are the fan in the hand of the Lord, for all men meet with adversities, but those that keep a loving heart and devotion to the Lord despite their sufferings show forth a victorious love story. On the other hand, a feeble or nonexistent faith does not run to God in the face of affliction. It is as a child that trusts in their own power to overcome some difficulty, injuring themselves further in the process, rather than running to their loving Father and imploring His help, that He may be the one that either rights the wrong, or comforts the child, whispering consoling things in their ear as they suffer. Therefore, when the winds of difficulty arise, know that this is permitted by the Lord, and your tender Father is not far from you, ever holding your hand and saying, “I love you” as you endure what comes your way, and by this you will build an immoveable faith: “From henceforth let no man be troublesome to me; for I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus in my body” (Galatians 6:17). You are a magnificent piece of marble, and your God desires to make a sculpture out of you that will be breathtaking, but it will require chiseling. O marvelous mystery! O redeeming God, who take that which is most contrary to human nature, grave suffering, and make into an act of love in which you manifest your presence!