Jesus, Caesar and the Christmas Questions

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas Vigil)

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Brooklyn Center, MN

Thursday, December 24, 2020

The central claim of Christianity is that God became human. God took to himself a human nature and became one of us. To make the story more acute, God did not first appear in Rome or in Athens. He did not appear in Babylon or in some great cultural center. He appeared in Bethlehem, a simple and humble place. St. Luke’s Christmas story begins by invoking Caesar Augustus and Quirinius. Caesar Augustus was the king of the world and Quirinius, the Roman governor of Syria. Luke tells us that Caesar Augustus has declared that census of the whole world be done. As a powerful king, he was taking a census of his kingdom so as to ascertain the number of people in his kingdom and more importantly, so that he can tax them more effectively and control them as well. But shortly after telling us about the two powerful kings, Luke turns his attention away from them and says that he is not interested primarily in them but in this Baby that has just been born. Surprisingly, this Baby is born, not in a palace. The palace is where Augustus Caesar would be. According to Luke, the Baby does not even get a room in Bethlehem hostel; he has to be born in a cave, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. Now, who was the freest person in the ancient world? No doubt, it was Caesar Augustus. He could do whatever he wanted. Once his will is uttered in Rome, it will be done in Syria, in Greece and around the world. But the real King as St. Luke tells us is a tiny little Baby wrapped up in swaddling clothes, too weak to even raise his head. What point is Luke making? The true king is not the one who has vast worldly power, rather the one who is bound to others in love, who becomes weak for the sake of the other. The true king is not the one who is protected in his palacio (palace), but the one who is willing to become vulnerable in love. He is placed in a manger, in a place where animals come to eat. Augustus Caesar was the best fed person in the ancient world. In his palace, he could snap his finger and get whatever he wanted. But the real King, the real Emperor, according to St. Luke, is not the best fed person, and not the one who feeds himself, but the one who is placed in a manger who became food for the world. The placement of the Baby King in a manger, in a place where animals come to eat is a great anticipation of Jesus’ whole life which reached its apogee at the Last Supper when he said, “This is my body,” “This is my Blood.” Meaning I am food and drink for you.

St. Luke’s Christmas story also includes the angels. When we talk about angels, we get excited about them, but in the Bible, the typical response to angel is fear. The appearance of an angel generates fear because a supernatural reality has broken into the world. It is this fear that causes the angel to say to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid.” Put differently, “Calm down, I have good news for you.” The good news is that “a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.” Consider the two titles—“Christ and Lord.” Christ means “the anointed one.” At the time “the anointed one” was the king himself. As for Lord (Adonai), it is the Jews name for God. They have a tradition of not pronouncing nor spelling out the proper name of God which is YHWH (Yahweh), they often would use Adonai which means Lord, Master or Owner. The name “Lord” emphasizes that God is in charge of his creation and his people. By calling the new born “the anointed one” the angel is basically saying that a new King has been born. The king is no longer the old one in Rome but the baby wrapped up in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. He is the real King. Go and visit him. 

To make the story even more delicious, Luke says that there appear with this angel “a multitude of heavenly host” (angels). The Greek word used is “stratiyeia” which means “army” or a “host.” In the ancient world, the one with the biggest and most powerful army is Augustus Caesar; that is why he was the most protected. But Luke is saying that his army is nothing compared to the army of this new born Baby. The Baby’s army is the army of angels, and their weapon is the weapon of love, compassion, forgiveness and non-violence which is the power that makes the universe. This Baby King is in-charge of this angelic army. So, the question arising from this story is: Which army are you with? Which king do you follow? Are you going to follow Caesar and all his thousands of successors down to the present day? Some, if not most of us would probably raise our hands and indicate that we are with Caesar and Caesar’s successors. Why? Because we want to be well protected. We want to be powerful. We want to live in a palace. We want to have the good life. But the choice God wants us to make, according to St. Luke is to march with the Baby King and his angelic army, to choose the heavenly way of love, compassion and non-violence and to reject the worldly way of power, wealth, pleasure, and honor. Christmas is a subversive feast for it announces the entrance of a Baby King who would overthrow the old existing system and establish the new. Christmas is not merely a time of family gathering and reunion. It is not just a time to travel, to marry, to merry, to open a new house, show off latest new cars, jewelries and fancy clothes. Don’t get me wrong. I’m in favor of family gathering to share a meal. I’m in favor of inviting friends and family to rejoice with you over the good things the good Lord has done for you. However, do not reduce Christmas to just doing all that alone. It is a time to answer the following questions, “Which army are you with?” “Which king do you follow?”