ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST’S MISSION

Last Sunday we heard the voice of John the Baptist calling the people to repentance in preparation for the coming of the Christ. Today we hear some of the teaching that he gave in answer to the questions various groups asked of him.

     Tax collectors came to ask his advice. Remember that these men were collaborators with the Roman authorities and got rich at their own fellow-citizens’ expense. No wonder they were hated! Yet John did not drive them away with angry denunciations. He did not forbid the payment of taxes. Instead, he told them not to take more from the people than was their due.

     Then some soldiers came to John. These, too, would have been regarded with great resentment by the people because they kept the pagans in power. They asked John how they should change their ways. He told them quite simply not to intimidate people, nor to use their power to extort money from them as bribes, and not to grumble about their pay. His advice was practical and straightforward and prepared the way for Our Lord’s even greater teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, and the final commandment at the Last Supper: “Love one another as I have loved you.”                                                       ~ FR. PAUL DOBSON