Luke 3:12-17: a reflection

12Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what must we do?” 13He said to them, “Collect no more than that which is appointed to you.” 14Soldiers also asked him, saying, “What about us? What must we do?” He said to them, “Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages.” 15As the people were in expectation, and all men reasoned in their hearts concerning John, whether perhaps he was the Christ, 16John answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to loosen. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire. 17His winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

When people come to John the Baptist asking what they must do to show their repentance, his answers are strikingly practical, and tied to their ordinary occupations. To the tax collectors he says: collect no more than you are authorized to. To the soldiers: do not extort by threats or false accusation, and be content with your wages. He does not tell them to leave their jobs, but to do them honestly and justly. Repentance, in John's teaching, shows itself in how we do our ordinary work.

Notice where John locates the fruit of repentance: in the honest and just doing of one's ordinary work. He did not tell the tax collectors or soldiers to abandon their occupations; he told them to do their work honestly, without cheating or extortion, and to be content. The fruit of repentance was to show in the very jobs they already had, in doing them justly and honestly. True repentance was not something apart from their ordinary work, but showed in how they did it.

That is worth taking to heart, for we can think of following God as something apart from our ordinary work, and overlook the honesty and justice God requires in our jobs. But John located the fruit of repentance right in people's ordinary occupations: do your work honestly, without cheating or extortion, and be content. The way we do our ordinary work, honestly or dishonestly, justly or unjustly, is where much of our repentance and faithfulness shows. Do not think of following God only in religious moments, apart from your ordinary work; let your repentance and faithfulness show in how you do your job, honestly and justly, without cheating, extortion, or dishonest gain, and content with what is right. The fruit of repentance, John taught, shows in the honest and just doing of our ordinary work; let yours show there, in doing your work with the honesty, justice, and contentment God requires, rather than seeking faithfulness only apart from the ordinary work of your life.

Lord, when people came to John the Baptist asking what they must do to show repentance, his answers were strikingly practical: to the tax collectors, collect no more than you are authorized to; to the soldiers, do not extort or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages. He did not tell them to leave their jobs, but to do them honestly and justly. Show me where John located the fruit of repentance: in the honest and just doing of one's ordinary work. True repentance was not something apart from their occupations, but showed in how they did them. Take that to my heart, for I can think of following you as something apart from my ordinary work, and overlook the honesty and justice you require in my job. But John located the fruit of repentance right in people's ordinary occupations: do your work honestly, without cheating, and be content. The way I do my ordinary work, honestly or dishonestly, is where much of my repentance and faithfulness shows. Keep me from thinking of following you only in religious moments, apart from my ordinary work; let my repentance and faithfulness show in how I do my job, honestly and justly, without cheating or dishonest gain, and content with what is right. Help me show the fruit of repentance in the honest and just doing of my ordinary work, Lord, rather than seeking faithfulness only apart from the ordinary work of my life.