There's a story about a young man who was in the Navy. As he was on a tour, his young bride waited at home. She knew that he would be visiting some exotic and wild ports, so before they parted, she gave him a harmonica.

This morning's scripture lesson is about accountability. In lighter terms, it is about the day when we have to play our harmonica and show what we've been doing with our lives. In heavier terms, it is about what is described in the Bible, and what is seen in Christian tradition, as Judgment Day - the day we stand before the Lord and give account for our lives. Some Christians, including some in the Bible, picture an actual moment after we die, with God sitting in the judge's seat, the book of our lives in his hands. Other Christians see Judgment Day not so much as an actual event, but as more of a symbol of the fact that God is a God of justice, and sooner or later our sins will come back at us - sooner or later, we are held accountable.

At the end of his life, Thomas Jefferson said, "I tremble when I remember that God is just." The apostle Paul stated it another way: he said, "God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow." The idea of judgment follows throughout the Bible - so much so that people get the idea that Christianity is a judgmental faith. And so much so, that many, many people live in fear of the judgment of God. Now, there's a fine line here. There is what President Jefferson was talking about: "I tremble when I remember that God is just." That's not a bad thing. All of us should tremble when we realize that we are, by nature, sinners. We entertain bad thoughts in our heads; we do things we shouldn't; we neglect things we should do. And if God is just, there must be accountability for that.

A teacher approached a little boy who was constantly making funny faces at other pupils. She said, "You know, Johnny, when I was a little girl I was told that if I made funny faces at people, someday my face would freeze that way." And Johnny looked up into the face of his teacher and said, "Well, Mrs. Smith, you can't say you weren't warned." Part of the fine line we walk is the realization that we are warned. God is not mocked. We will reap what we sow. The justice of God will prevail.

This morning's scripture lesson is about the message of John the Baptist, and it is about accountability. He talks to the religious and civic leaders - the Pharisees and Sadducees, and calls them a 'brood of vipers' - a bunch of snakes - because they think that just because they have connections - they are 'children of Abraham' - they will not be judged for what they do. And John scolds them, saying, ".. .God is able from these stones to raise up children of Abraham."

Then he talked about trees - he said, "Even now the axe is laid to the root of the tree: every tree… that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." Accountability. God is not mocked. We should tremble to think that God is just.

But I said that is part of a fine line. The other side of that line is to realize that the justice of God is good news. First of all, what a terrible world this would be if there were no justice - no accountability - if evil were simply allowed free rein. But secondly - and most important - is that justice is not all there is to God. There is also infinite mercy. Psalm 86:15 says, "...thou, 0 Lord, art a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." And of all the hundreds and hundreds of verses in the Bible 1 could choose from about the mercy of God, 1 intentionally choose one from the Old Testament, because people have this mistaken notion about the Bible - they think the Old Testament is about God's judgment, and the New Testament is about God's mercy. But the fact is, justice and mercy are intertwined throughout the Bible, and throughout our lives. They are inseparable attributes of God. This must be a paradox we can understand, because of our experience of parenting. Whether we are on the receiving end or the giving end, we understand that the same parent who makes us take a time out, or sends us to our room, is the one who lovingly holds us and provides for our lives.

This is the nature of God; this is the nature of God's Son. The comedian W.C. Fields used to say that he read the Bible regularly - because he was looking for loopholes. Well here it is -- the cross of Jesus Christ is about both justice and mercy- and both are good news. There is justice - thank God! But there is also forgiveness and mercy. Here's the thin line: to see God as a harsh and demanding Judge denies everything the Bible teaches about God's infinite love. But to see God's love as a loophole that allows us to do whatever we want without accountability mocks the justice of God, and will not stand. We need both signs of God together.

That's why 1 like John the Baptist's image of the winnowing fork. Here's how people of biblical times might harvest their grain: First, the grain was cut from the field and brought to the threshing floor; then, it was threshed by having oxen tread on it, shaking the grain free from the husks. Then the grain and the husks were scooped up with a winnowing fork, a kind of pitch-fork with thick wooden teeth. The grain and chaff were thrown up into the air; a little bit of wind helps. The grain, which is heavier, would fall straight down; the husks, which are feather light, were blown away, and would land somewhere off. This was repeated until the wheat and the chaff were totally separated. Then, maybe the chaff was burned, to get rid of it.

This would be a very familiar process to those who listened to John. And I see it as both an image of justice and an image of grace. Justice because sooner or later the chaff must be burned - it would be dreadful to imagine that evil would never be dealt with. But it is also an image of grace, because it lets us know that God is willing to purify our lives. His hand, said John, is already on the winnowing fork, and he is willing to clear the chaff from our lives right now. The wind that will blow the chaff away is the wind of God's Spirit. And the great message of grace this morning is that, while we should have a healthy trembling before the justice of God, we need not live in fear of a harsh, judging God - because God can winnow the chaff away from the grain.

John the Baptist had an immensely popular ministry - he had celebrity status - but he always pointed beyond himself to Jesus. "I baptize you with water," he said. "But he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." And there are a lot of ways to interpret that, but I think you could say that John the Baptist could help us see that we A are accountable, and call us to confess and repent - but Jesus goes beyond that. Jesus can transform our lives, and purify us from our sins, and give us the power to walk away from this place as new people, with a new direction, and new hope.

I imagine that if John the Baptist were here today, he would not talk about a winnowing fork. Probably most of us have not done any grain harvesting lately. So I tried to think of what image John might use today, from our lives, and I thought of a couple. The first one is about one of my favorite days - garbage pick-up day. You know, we go about our daily lives, and we do the things we have to do, and there is this garbage that accumulates, and it piles up in these plastic containers. But if you sort it out, and wheel it out to the curb - something beautiful happens. You wake up in the morning, and it's gone. The garbage is gone. It's like magic. I think John the Baptist could talk about that, and we'd know what he was saying.

And the other image he might use is one we are also very familiar with - it's from the field of psychology, where they talk about "baggage." That stuff we carry around with us - our guilt; our grief; our regrets; our sins; our addictions. What are you and I going to do with this brand-new year we've been given? Whatever it is, we don't need the garbage. We don't need the baggage. We don't need the chaff, said John. God's hand is already on the winnowing fork, ready to take, that stuff away.

So leave it. We have an invitation this morning from our Host. Come to the table of Holy Communion and receive the symbols of life purchased for you at great price- the very Body and Blood of Christ given on the cross. And here's what he said about it - this is the blood of a new covenant, shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. So when you leave this table, when you go back to your pew, and then when you leave this church - leave that stuff here, and go forward as a new person - a person inspired and transformed by the Holy Spirit and the fire of Jesus.

That sounds too simple; maybe you've done it before, and it didn't 'take.' You see, what we do is leave our baggage, but then we take it back again, because we're afraid to be without it. That's okay. Just leave it again, and again, and again. And God will work on your life, and the day will come when you just don't need that stuff any more. There's no room for it in your new life.

Someone has defined home as the place where you experience the three A's: you are Accepted, Appreciated, and Accountable. All three are essential. All three are God's gift to you today. Come to my table, says Jesus. And welcome home.