Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance

 

 Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed. 

* * * 

 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

 Make His paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled

And every mountain and hill brought low;

The crooked places shall be made straight

And the rough ways smooth;

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

 

 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."

 

- Luke 1:1-4, 3:1-14 

 

In our recent readings, the lectionary has been focused on the Gospel of St. John.  Presently we read through chapter 12, in which Jesus was in Jerusalem at the final Passover of His earthly life.  He had made His Triumphal Entry into the Holy City, and spent time teaching in the temple.  On Saturday, we read that Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.  And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.  I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.  And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.  He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.  For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that His command is everlasting life.  Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."  Today the lectionary takes us to the Gospel of St. Luke.

 

  Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.  My study Bible notes that St. Luke was not a disciple from the beginning; however, he has a perfect understanding of the gospel because his sources were the apostles themselves. That is, the apostles who were the eyewitnesses of Christ.  St. Luke wrote his Gospel to Theophilus.  Theophilus was a prominent Gentile who had received Christian instruction (see also Acts 1:1).  According to St. Ambrose, Theophilus can mean any "lover of God," and therefore he writes, "If you love God, it was written to you."

 

  Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  My study Bible comments on the high priests.  It says that while Caiaphas was now the sole high priest, people also recognized the continuing power of his father-in-law Annas, who was a previous high priest deposed by the Romans.  

 

  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins . . .  For the prophets of the Old Testament, the call to repentance was tradition.  It is a call to turn back to the Lord.  My study Bible comments that St. John's baptism did not grant remission of sins once and for all, but it prefigured and prepared people for the baptism of Christ which was to come (see Romans 6:3-11).  St. John the Baptist is a figure of the Law, in that -- like the Law -- he denounced sin but could not remit (or "put away") sin.  Both St. John and the Law point to the One who can do so.

 

 . . . as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"  In John 1:23, St. John the Baptist ascribes to himself the role of "the voice of one crying in the wilderness."  

 

 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."  My study Bible comments here that, while parents and ancestors help impart piety and holiness, ancestry itself does not make one worthy of God.  Each person in every generation, it notes, must bear fruits worthy of repentance.  Stones are symbolic of the Gentiles who would become children to Abraham through faith in Christ (Romans 4:16-18).  

 

Right from the beginning, St. John the Baptist's focus is on repentance, and preparation for the One whose work will bring judgment.  But, as Jesus will continually emphasize, judgment will focus on a lived faith.  In St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus' parable of judgment comes down to our capacity for the practice of compassion, what we do in living our faith (Matthew 25:31-46).   In St. John's Gospel, as we have just read, it is the living of the word given to Christ by the Father that determines judgment (see the previous reading and commentary, And I know that His command is everlasting life). According to St. John the Evangelist and Theologian, his Gospel presents faith as something much more than an intellectual acceptance of truth.  It is, in fact, a trust, a confidence, through which we live our lives and which guides what we do.  This is a much deeper bond within the soul.  In fact, in this deep sense, what we do, what we practice, informs who we are.  In today's reading, the people ask the Baptist, "What shall we do then?" St. John speaks of generosity to those more poor than we are.  Then those who are considered among the community as sinners also come to St. John.  The tax collectors ask, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  He tells them to refrain from the common practice of taking more than was required for the payment of taxes to the Romans, keeping extra for themselves.  And the soldiers as well, whose might helps enforce such corruption, come to him and ask, "And what shall we do?"  The Baptist's answer teaches them to refrain from extortion:  "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."   In each of these ways, then, St. John the Baptist is teaching the people what it means to "bear fruits worthy of repentance."  In other words, there are concrete ways to express in their lives the turning back to God, repentance.  Jesus also will speak of people in images of trees and the fruit they produce.  In the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus teaches, "For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks" (Luke 6:43-45).  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus will repeat the words of the Baptist regarding judgment:  "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (Matthew 7:19).  The lectionary begins our first readings in St. Luke's Gospel with its first verses from chapter 1, and then starting into chapter 3.  The section it skips is Luke 1:5 - Luke 2:52, which cover the births of St. John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, including stories of His early life.  The saints we read about in that section all form examples of what it is to live one's faith, to respond to God by living one's faith, despite fears and hardships.  Let us pay attention.

 

 

 

 

Bear fruits worthy of repentance

 

 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make His paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled

And every mountain and hill brought low; 

The crooked places shall be made straight

 And the rough ways smooth;

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then the tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages." 

 

- Luke 3:1-14 

 

Our most recent lectionary posts followed what is known as Christ's Farewell Discourse, spoken to the apostles at the Last Supper.  Jesus' final words in that discourse (just prior to His High Priestly Prayer) were, "A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to the Father."  Then some of His disciples said among themselves, "What is this that He says to us, 'A little while, and you will not see Me'; and, 'because I go to the Father'?"  They said therefore, "What is this that He says, 'A little while'?  We do not know what he is saying."  Now Jesus knew that they desired to ask Him, and He said to them, "Are you inquiring among yourselves about what I said, 'A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me'?  Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.  A woman, when she is in labor, has sorrow because her hour has come; but as soon as she has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.  Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.  And in that day you will ask Me nothing.  Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.  Until now you have asked nothing in My name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father.  In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and I have believed that I came forth from God.  I came forth from the Father and have come into the world.  Again, I leave the world and go to the Father."  His disciples said to Him, "See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech!  Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You.  By this we believe that You came forth from God."  Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe?  Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone, because the Father is with Me.  These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

 

  Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene . . .    My study Bible tells us that Herod ruled Judea from 37-4 BC.  He was also called "Herod the Builder" for his many building projects, the most famous and impressive of which was the expansion and refurbishing of the Second Temple, so that it became known in its time as one of the seven wonders of the world.  My study Bible comments that Luke mentions Herod to pinpoint the historical date of the birth of Jesus Christ.  It adds that an ancient prophecy of Jacob indicated the Messiah would come when a king ruled who was not from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10).  Herod was a non-Jew who called himself the king of Judea, and so expectations were that the coming of Christ was surely at hand.

 

 . . . while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  Regarding the high priests, my study Bible notes that Caiaphas was now the sole high priest, but people also recognized the continuing power of his father-in-law Annas, a previous high priest who had been deposed by the Romans.  John the son of Zacharias is St. John the Baptist.

 

 And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins . . .   My study Bible comments here that the call to repentance was traditional for prophets.  John's baptism, it says, did not grant remission of sins once and for all.  But it prefigured and prepared people for the baptism of Christ which was to come (see Romans 6:3-11).  John is a figure of the Law in that, like the Law, he denounced sin but could not remit (or literally "put away") sin.  Both John and the Law, my study Bible tells us, point to the One who can remit sin.  

. . . as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"   John quotes from Isaiah 40:3-5, ascribing to himself this role of the voice of one crying in the wilderness.  

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to  flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that god is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?"  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then the tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."   My study Bible comments on this passage that, while parents and ancestors help impart piety and holiness, ancestry itself does not make one worthy of God.  Each person in every generation must do as John says; that is, bear fruits worthy of repentance.   These stones are symbolic of the Gentiles who would become children to Abraham through faith in Christ (Romans 4:16-18). 

What does it mean to become children of Abraham?  This is a question central to the Gospels and to the Christian faith.  For we, as Christians, are also called children of Abraham (as St. Paul writes in Romans 4).  There, St. Paul makes it clear that those who are children of Abraham are those who are "like Abraham."  That is, like Abraham, they are those whose righteousness is justified by faith.  For, if we consider that Abraham himself lived before the Law was given to Moses, he could not be justified by the Law.  Instead, Genesis 15:6 tells us of Abraham that "he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness."  This is what it is to be "justified by faith."  But in pursuing this understanding, we also have to consider just what faith is.  Is it just a set of principles we state that we believe are true?  According to the whole of the Bible, this is not what faith is, for faith can't be separated from living that faith, actually doing the things our faith (or "trust" in God) calls us to do.  It's the same as proclaiming our love for someone or something.  If this love does not prompt us to live its values and meaning, if we neglect our pledge of love, then what is love?  Declarations do not make love, "belief" does not make love.  Love is what we do, and faith is also what we do, what we live.  This principle is exemplified in John the Baptist's teaching to those whom he calls to repentance in today's reading.  What it is to "bear fruits worthy of repentance" is shown in John's answers to the people who ask, "What should we do?"  To the people, he instructs they must share charitably with those who are without, to the tax collectors he teaches not to engage in the common practice of extortion, but to collect only what is appointed.  The soldiers he instructs to make no false accusation or intimidation (and thereby take a bribe), "and be content with your wages."   These are all actions, works, fruits; even to refrain from doing something evil is an action.  To have faith is not simply a mental exercise.  For to have faith in God is to be obedient to God, to respond to God's call to us, which appears in some way in every conscience, "written in the heart" as St. Paul says in Romans 2.  In St. John the Evangelist's First Epistle, he writes to his flock about judgment, and of the discernment of knowing Christ.  He makes this intriguing statement, speaking of Christ, "If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him" (1 John 2:29).  We come back over and over again to this question of righteousness, and John supplies us with this sense of choosing what (or Whom) we align with, the "energies" by which we live, that determine what we do, the life in which we participate.  But in his words, we "practice righteousness," just as the Baptist tells the people, the tax collectors, the soldiers.  So let it be also with us.  For we also today must "prepare the way of the Lord" -- if in our hearts, then in the way we live our lives, as did Abraham.

 

 

 

 

 

Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father"

Grape harvest detail, 4th century, mosaic.  Nave of Santa Costanza Church, Rome 

 

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make His paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled

And every mountain and hill brought low;

 The crooked places shall be made straight

And the rough ways smooth;

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, 'Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."  

 

So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do them?"  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."

 

- Luke 3:1–14 

 

In our recent readings, we have been covering Jesus' final hours with His disciples.  We read His Farewell Discourse (beginning with this reading) and also His High Priestly Prayer (starting here).  Yesterday, we read the last verses of that prayer:  "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.  And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.  Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.  O righteous Father!  The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.  And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."

 

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene . . ..  Today the lectionary starts readings in Luke's Gospel.    Luke is careful to establish dates, times, places, and the people of the historical setting to the story of Jesus Christ.  Herod the tetrarch of Galilee is Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great who was king of Judea at the time of Christ's birth.  (Herod the Great ruled Judea from 37-4 BC.  My study bible notes that there was an ancient prophecy of Jacob which indicated that the Messiah would come when  king ruled who was not of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10).  Herod was a non-Jew who called himself the king of Judea, a sign that the coming of Christ was at hand.)  At the time setting of the beginning of Luke chapter 3, both Jesus and John the Baptist are mature adults.

. . . while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.  At this time Caiaphas was now the sole high priest, but people also recognized the continuing power of his father-in-law, Annas, a previous high priest who had been deposed by the Romans.  

And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins . . ..   My study bible says that the call to repentance was a traditional call of the prophets.  John's baptism does not grant remission of sins once and for all, but was a prefiguring and preparing people for Christ's baptism which was to come (see Romans 6:3-11).   It adds that John is a figure of the Law, in the sense that, like the Law, he denounced sin but he could not remit (literally "put away") sin.  (The word for remit here is the same word found in the Lord's Prayer, when we're told to pray for forgiveness as we offer forgiveness -- see Luke 11:1-4, Matthew 6:8-15.)

. . . as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.  Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"  John ascribes himself the role of the voice of one crying in the wilderness in John 1:23.  John quotes from Isaiah 40:3-5.

Then he said to the multitudes that came out to be baptized by him, 'Brood of vipers!  Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.'  For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.  And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.  Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."   My study bible comments that while parents and ancestors help to impart piety and holiness, ancestry itself doesn't make a person worthy of God.  Each person in every generation needs to bear fruits worthy of repentance.  That is, to come to God in a dynamic living relationship.  Stones in this context are symbols of the Gentiles who would become children to Abraham through faith in Christ (Romans 4:16-18).  

 

 So the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do them?"  He answered and said to them, "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise."  Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"  And he said to them, "Collect no more than what is appointed for you."  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?"  So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."  Luke, through the responses of John the Baptist, gives us images of fruits of repentance:  to share or give alms to those in need when one has abundance, that tax collectors and soldiers do their work justly, and not commit extortion (a common practice).  

I find it very interesting that John the Baptist does not tell the tax collectors or soldiers to stop doing their jobs, to find other forms of employment.  Instead, he counsels them to be just in doing their work:  the tax collectors to collect no more than what is appointed for them, and the soldiers to refuse to intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and to be content with their wages.   Clearly it was common practice for tax collectors and soldiers to use the power of the Roman state to extort by either claiming someone owed more taxes or by intimidation and false accusation.  We know the tax collectors were Jews appointed to do this job among fellow Jews, and it seems quite clear that the soldiers seeking repentance in preparation for the Messiah are Jews as well.  But John does not tell them they should not be tax collectors, and he does not tell them they should not be soldiers.  What this means is, first of all, he is not separating people along political lines.  He doesn't tell people that repentance consists of refusal to work for the Romans.  Similarly to Jesus, the emphasis here is on the soul and one's place before God, the judgment brought near by the Messiah, and preparation for that reality.  Apparently, nationalist or other politics plays no role in that for John.  This also speaks of John's great faith in the Messiah, for if those issues need be addressed, surely they will be addressed in the coming of the Lord.  We know, however, that this is consistent with Christ, who did not preach politics as salvation.  Neither does John assert that to be a soldier or a tax collector is evil in and of itself.  He does not assert that the violence and power of the Roman state makes those who work for the state automatically ineligible for membership in the kingdom of God or able to prepare for the coming of Messiah.  And in this context, we must remember that tax collectors were despised by the people and seen as sinful, as no doubt were the soldiers who might back them up and do their own predatory practices against the people and prop up the hated occupiers as well.  John the Baptist's focus is redemption, and the preparation for a Messiah who will be capable of offering the remission of sins.  Therefore his preaching is perfect preparation for Christ Himself, who will not be counted with the rebels like Barabbas, but who will offer a different sort of Kingdom for the remission of sin, and a different sense of justice.  What John preaches instead is righteousness, and personal righteousness, the responsibility to do what is just in one's own life.  He preaches a personal responsibility to God, even among tax collectors and soldiers of the Roman state.   He preaches loyalty to God.  To be a child of Abraham is to be like Abraham, loyal and obedient to God, and humble before God, aware of where one is asked to go and what one is asked to do in this dynamic relationship of love.  To be a child of Abraham is to bear fruits worthy of repentance, to take on personal responsibility for our place before God, not a slogan and not a political solution to all evils.  John's baptism is a not a collective effort, but one that recognizes the heart and soul of the individual as the place where the preparation for the kingdom of God must take place.  It is a sense in which justice and righteousness must exist within a person first, a right responsibility to God.  Let us remember that at the time described in the historical setting, there were all kinds of rebels and rebellious sects seeking to overthrow the Roman rule, but this is not John's preparation for the Messiah.  John tells them "do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' "  It is not pride in ancestry that saves, but rather a clear focus on the knowledge that it is God who creates God's children, a living and dynamic communion.  Let us consider in our own hearts, and our own time, what this means for us.  What does it mean to take on righteousness as a personal expression of our place before God?  What would it look like to be a true child of Abraham, one who is prepared to leave all to follow where God asks us to go, and what God asks us to be?  What is it to take full responsibility for righteousness, and not a political side or a slogan?  These questions remain important, in every generation, just as every generation -- as my study bible says -- and each person in it, must consider what it means to bear fruits worthy of repentance.