Homily for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Jesus of Nazareth: Real or Myth?

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

St. Bonaventure Catholic Church, Bloomington, MN

Sunday, January 23, 2022

A few years ago, a poll conducted in Britain showed that majority of people there feel that Jesus was not a real historical figure, that he was more of a mythic character. Don’t forget this is the land of great Christian figures like Thomas Moore, John Fisher, John Henry Newman, and G. K. Chesterton etc. all of whom I believe are rolling their eyes in heaven at this finding and screaming, “No! No! No! He is real.” But the historicity of Jesus, the fact that he is a real historical figure, that he did walk on this earth is vitally important to Christianity. It is true that some religious and spiritual groups use mythic language to communicate some deep spiritual truths. And there’s nothing wrong with that. When I was growing up in Nigeria, mythical stories, legends, fairytales were used to teach children and young people important beliefs and values they should cultivate. Although the stories are fabricated, they communicate and teach deep spiritual and moral lessons to young ones. One of the distinctive marks of these stories is that they always begin with the phrase “Once upon a time, in a distant land…” In fact, once the narrator says, “Once upon a time,” the children will chorus, “time, time!” Like I said previously, there is nothing wrong with myths and legends. I like them. In a story fashion, they teach timeless spiritual insights. 

To be clear, what we are talking about in Christianity is not a legend or a fairytale. Among all the world religions, Christianity depends upon certain clear historical claims. But is history an exact science? Not really. You cannot reproduce the data of history and run an experiment on them. It is impossible to go back and verify what really happened to Abraham Lincoln or Julius Caesar. In the arena of physics and chemistry, if someone makes a claim, another scientist may decide to test the hypothesis to see if the claim is true or false. But history cannot be that way. In history, there is most likely going to be some lack of accuracy and precision, some level of inexactitude and incertitude. Sad enough, over the years, this fact has led even some Christians both Catholics and Protestants to say, ‘Let’s bracket history. Let’s not focus on historical facts. Let’s focus on the spiritual truths being relayed by these Christian texts.’ But the problem with this approach is that the founding texts of Christianity do not allow this path of interpretation. They do not permit Christianity to degenerate into a mere mythic system. The first Christians were intensely interested in history. They were utterly convinced that something dramatically huge, something unexpected happened. They were not engaging in a “once upon a time” story. They were talking about something that happened, something that broke into history and became the fulcrum of all history, and they wanted to share it with everybody. 

Are you wondering or asking yourself, ‘where is he taking this?’ If you are, that means you are listening. To answer your question, let’s turn to today’s Gospel passage, which is the opening paragraph of the Gospel of Luke and listen to what Luke tells us he is precisely doing:

“Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.

Luke is a historian who has done his research. He has read relevant texts, sought out the eyewitnesses, listened to them, and is now giving us an orderly account of the things that had happened. What Luke said in the opening of his Gospel is not how myth-makers talk. It is not “once upon a time” or in a distant country far away, or “in a galaxy far away.” Luke is talking about things that happened. Sometimes I hear people say, “You know, the Gospels were written long after the time of Jesus, and so they are mostly about the community that produced them, and it is mostly about the mind of the author. We don’t really know what Jesus said.” To such comments, I say, “Absolutely nonsense!” What if I decide to write a history of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It is almost 60 years ago. So, after reading books and articles about his assassination, after doing the research of that sad event which include interviewing people who were in the parade that JFK went by— some of the eyewitnesses are still alive, and after all that, I publish my work, would you say I wrote a book of mythology? Would you say I wrote a book of legends that had nothing to do with historical fact? Not at all! I think you will most certainly call me a serious historian. So also is Luke. He wrote history as much as he can at that time. He wrote because something happened. Someone came!

Women, men, young people, children, listen to me. Hear this loud and clear, Jesus of Nazareth is not a mythical character. He is indeed a historical figure who has come to save the world. So, open the ears of your heart. Hear him. He is speaking to you. He is speaking in every event of your life. He is speaking in big and small events in your life. He is speaking in the Scripture, which is not just the word about God but the Word of God. He speaks to us everyday, and in today’s Gospel he tells us that the prophesy of Isaiah, made several centuries before his birth, has been fulfilled. When and where is this Scripture fulfilled? “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” If you are wondering when you can meet this Jesus, the answer is today. Now! St. Paul says, “Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).