what then should we do? 3rd sunday of advent C

What then should we do?  This is the question of the people John was preaching to.  They came from all walks of life - the poor crowd, the tax collectors, even the soldiers were there and they listened to John as he preached.  Then somebody brave enough probably raised his hands and asked, “what then should we do?” You have been talking about the need for repentance, you have asked us to prepare for the coming of the messiah, now we ask you, what shall we do?” 

Looking now at John’s reply where he answered specific life situations and even specific professions, we can say that this same question was in everybody’s head, a question that needed to be asked.  What then should we do?  Ti ano karon ang himuon namon. 

Many times people fail to ask this important question so needed for human growth.  However, one cannot ask this question when there is no admission of reality, when we are too busy denying the charge, when we are unwilling to accept mistakes, when we are unwilling to confront reality and when we feel we become less of ourselves when we ask for help.  But this question is important - it shows sincerity in the desire to change.

But many times the answers to this basic question is not being offered either.  Many times our accusations and judgements are never really meant to make people better.  They are just meant to put them down.  They are just meant to malign.  Why?  Because the answer to this basic question is not being offered. There is actually no desire to make things better in the other.

So these two should be present, the question must be asked, what must I do; and the question must be answered, or at the very least there must be a desire to answer the question.

So in our gospel today the question was asked and the reply was also given.  John the Baptist answered this question - to the poor crowd he said, share what you have with those who have less or those who are in need; to the tax collectors he said, take only what is fair; and to the soldiers he said, do not extort.  There is nothing spectacular about these demands.  What John is offering is entirely within their reach.  Well it might not be easy for many of them probably, but these things are doable.  These are very concrete solutions well within reach even of an ordinary person with ordinary virtues.  No one is asked to become a monk.  No one is asked to fast 4 times a week.  Nobody is asked to do something spectacular or out of the ordinary.  The demands were simple.  share what you have, take only what is fair, do not extort. The crowd can go home after that; the tax collector can go back to their booths; the soldier can go back to camp and continue to do what a soldier does best.  But now they are going to do things better.  They might be doing the same thing, the same profession, in the same line of work but this time these are done differently. 

This is what family day is all about.  You are not asked to be an extraordinary family just like for example the family of Bernard of Clairvaux.  His family was so extraordinary his biography is entitled, The Family That Overtook Christ’s family.  You don’t have to become like this family.  You just have to do things better next time, you just have to do things differently next time.