My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Although John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness, his new teaching spread far and wide, and many people sought him out. Their first question was: What does repentance mean in practice? John’s advice is simple and practical: Live charitably and honestly.
Luke, however, adds two details that would have alerted his readers to the fact that this message was not just for the righteous, but for those on the margins – those whom the respectable folk would see as sinners.
The first are tax collectors – figures of hatred at the time John was preaching. In the first place, they collected taxes on behalf of the occupying Roman forces, and also were notorious for creaming off a little extra for themselves. John does not tell them to give up their work – but to do it honestly and fairly.
The next group mentioned by name are soldiers. He does not specify whether they are Jewish or Roman, but the latter is more likely. Again, John dies not condemn their work or insist that they give it up in order to be baptized. Rather, he says that they must conduct themselves honorably and not abuse the position of power in which they find themselves.
This drawing in of those on the margins led people to wonder if this was the one who was to proclaim salvation to the whole world; but John knew otherwise. He was the messenger sent to prepare the world, not to save it. He was sent to begin gathering the harvest; but the one to come would winnow it and separate grain from chaff, determining who will enter the Kingdom and who will not.
Thus, the question for us is: “what should we do during this Advent according to St. John?” The grain is what has the capacity to bear fruit – the chaff will blow away or be burnt in the fire. Those who repent and live according to the directives John lays down will have the capacity to bear fruit in their own way of life. A tax collector who does not cheat – or a soldier who does not extort – will soon be marked out as different. They may suffer ridicule and be tempted by the siren voices: “Everyone does it.” But, holding firm to their principles, they will set an example of living that will influence others: What is it that these people have that causes them to behave like this?
In our own day – and in our own work – the challenge remains the same: Do we really repent from our sins?
With love,
Fr. Thuong hoai Nguyen