Let me tell you a true story. It is from World War II. It is from a book titled Shantung Compound. A young American teaching at a Yenching University near Peking, named Langdon Gilkey was arrested with other foreigners and sent to an internment camp in Japan. An internment camp is sort of like a Concentration Camp, expect there is no tortures or beatings.
But there were 2,000 detainees from all over the world living together where it was crowded, never enough to eat, minimal medical care, unsanitary, cold and just boring with nothing to do.
The people were all in this together, so it didn’t matter if someone was American or British, white, Negro, Jew, Parsee, or Indian. But that all changed in January 1944, when 1,500 parcels arrived from the Red Cross, filled with food, medicine and warm clothing.
For the first time, hope filled the camp as the parcels were unloaded. The Japanese had planned to distribute the parcels to everyone — but the boxes were labeled “American Red Cross” and a small group of seven Americans demanded that only Americans were entitled to the contents.
Suddenly the whole camp started arguing and it turned into a bitterly divided collection of hostile national groups,” Gilkey writes. “Ironically, our wondrous Christmas gift brought in its wake the exact opposite of peace on earth.”
The distribution of the parcels was delayed for several days while the officers consulted their superiors. Attempts by Gilkey and a few others to persuade his fellow Americans to share what they viewed as “American property” failed. He witnessed the power of greed at work, “for the first time, I felt fundamentally humiliated at being an American.”
Why are people greedy? I have seen it myself whenever there’s a free sample at a store. Even with a sign that says, “Free. Take One.” Sure enough there are always some who need to take more than one. Or I saw it at parishioners’ who had a big bowl of candy set out for Halloween.
Some kids took one piece, but there were always some who grabbed a huge handful.
It’s probably why I don’t really care for buffets . . . I always end up eating too much. I justify it a “just getting my money’s worth” attitude. But really? How much do we need? How much do I need?
How much do you need? John the Baptist harps about this in the gospel when he calls us to realize how self-centered we are. He says, “You brood of vipers.” and “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” We have to start looking out for others, especially the poor and vulnerable.
This is especially true when you think of how much do you need to receive at Christmas? Or how much do you need to spend at Christmas? Now I am not saying that we can’t acknowledge people we love with gifts, but John is saying don’t lose sight of Christ . . . who calls us to be people of justice and peace.
The first reading from Isaiah says that it is possible for enemies to get along . . . symbolized with these two opposing elements living peacefully together: wolf and lamb
leopard a kid goat
calf and a lion
cow and a bear.
Maybe the message today is not only to stop being so greedy with your resources. Give!
But also stop being so greedy with compassion and good cheer. Don’t just share it with people close to you.
As Paul said in the second reading to the Roman, “Welcome one another, then, as Christ as welcomed you for the glory of God.”
If you feel love . . . then go love others, even that jerk at work (stop talking smack about him,
look for good qualities in him, start having conversations with him).
If you feel forgiveness . . . then go forgive that other kid at school.
If you feel blessed . . . then go become a blessing for someone, and stop doing the things that you know “makes them crazy.”
You know, with the story at the internment camp . . . in the end, the Japanese distributed the parcels to everyone, but there were one hundred extra parcels and they were sent to other camps.
God has enough love, and forgiveness and blessing for you. You don’t need to be greedy.
Go share.