what makes us unhappy - 3rd sunday advent C 2018

Today everything seems to exhort us to be happy.  The prophet Zephaniah in our first reading says, shout for joy. The prophet Isaiah in our responsorial psalm says, cry out with joy and gladness.  And St. Paul to the Philippians writes,Brothers and sisters:  Rejoice in the Lord always.  Everyone it seems is compelling us to rejoice, even our church today already glitters with exuberance sparing no empty space if only to encourage everyone to be joyful. Even my vestments today seem to shout, be happy.

Everyone that is, except our gospel, John the Baptist. John the Baptist is the killjoy ever since.  Appearing for two Sundays now he is the Grinch who is trying to steal our Christmas every chance he gets.  And for good reason, if only to remind us that Christmas "comes without ribbons, it comes without tags.  It comes without packages, boxes or bags.  Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store.  Maybe Christmas means a little bit more."  (Jim Carey does this line best)  

And this is what John the Baptist is pointing to us.  Perhaps this Sunday we are exhorted to be happy so that before we celebrate Christmas, we may see the sources of our unhappiness. What makes us unhappy? 

One day a teacher and the principal were standing near the playground, where the children were frolicking, playing.  The teacher asked the principal, “Why is it that everyone wants to be happy, but so few ever are?

The principal answered, ‘Those children seem to be really happy.”

And the teacher replied, “Why shouldn’t they be happy. All they do is play. But my question is, what keeps the grownups like us from being happy like these children?”

“The same thing that can keep children from being happy,” replied the principal. And when she had said that, she reached into her pocket, pulled out a handful of coins, and threw them among the playing children.

Suddenly all laughter stopped.  The children tumbled over one another, fought and argued, pulled each other’s hand and even threw a few punches here and there.

Then the principal asked the teacher, “Well what do you think ended their happiness?”  “The fighting,” answered the teacher.  “And what started the fighting?”  And the teacher answered, “Greed.”

John the Baptist said to the crowd, those who have extra cloaks and food should share with those who have none.  To tax collectors he said stop collecting more than what is prescribed. And to the soldiers he said stop extorting, do not falsely accuse anyone and be satisfied with what you have. Because what is the source of our unhappiness? – greed in all its forms.

There is gift giving on our birthdays and on Christmas because we want to imitate the first gift giver - God.  Because of the many gifts God has given us two stand out as the most marvelous of God’s gifts to us - first God created you and me, and even more wondrously the second gift because God sent his only Son Jesus on Christmas to redeem us who though he was in the form of God, took the form of a slave to be born in the likeness of man.  The giving is pure and the gifts are lavish and the giving is the self, because greed is absent in the heart of God.

The nativity scene is unfinished, the church may already be lavishly decorated however much remains to be done.  All we have at the moment is an empty manger.  We will wait, and as we wait, we will pray, preparing our hearts to become like God’s heart.  Then perhaps 9 days from now it will be indeed as the prophets foretold a happy and blessed Christmas.