THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Sometimes you get asked to do
something that doesn’t feel right – not something unpleasant to do, such as
cleaning up a mess; not something you can’t do, such as brain surgery; but
something that doesn’t feel right, something you don’t want to do because it
violates your sense of right and wrong.
It can happen at work, at school or in your family. Someone may ask you to do something that
feels dishonest.
Some people do it. They do it to keep their job or to keep the
affection of the person who asked. Then
they do it again, and again. Pretty soon
it’s easier not to look at the thing you’re doing, not to reflect on it, just
to do it. But every so often, you feel
something else, and you realize that what you’re doing, what you are now in the
habit of doing, is just wrong.
These tax collectors who appear in
the gospels – you know their reputation: These were people who were told to
take more than they should and pocket the extra change. They show up in stories about Jesus; they
also appear in today’s gospel with John the Baptist. We think of biblical tax collectors as
hardened criminals, but surprisingly they listened to Jesus and John the
Baptist. Tax collectors were doing
something that didn’t feel right. It
gnawed at them. Finally they had to do
something about it; they couldn’t live with it any more.
In today’s gospel, three groups approach
John the Baptist: the crowds, tax collectors, and soldiers. They all ask him the same question, “What
should we do?” “Teacher, what should we
do?” “What is it that we should
do?” Tax collectors called John “teacher”;
they needed him to guide them in a better way of living.
We need guidance too, and once in
a while we courageously ask a parent, a counselor, a teacher, or somebody else
whose opinion we respect the same question so many people ask in today’s
gospel, “What should we do?” If we haven’t
asked it, we’re afraid of the answer; we’re afraid the answer will challenge us
to make some changes.
The answers of John the Baptist do
just that. He says: If you own two
cloaks, give one to the poor. If you
have extra food, share with the hungry.
If you collect taxes, stop taking more than you
should. Do not extort, do not falsely
accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages. If something is bothering you and you want to
know what to do, John says this: be content with what you have, don’t try for
more, and make do with less.
If John the Baptist thought two
coats were one too many, how would he feel about the number of shoes I
own? If he thought taxes were too high,
how would he feel about the demands I make for my services? If he thought soldiers should be content with
their wages, how would he feel about my desire to spend more than I have?
John the Baptist challenges people
who do things that don’t feel right. We
do and we don’t want to hear his words. We
will be happier, though, if we are brave enough to ask, “What should we do?”