Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year B

Subversive Words About Christ

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent, Year B

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, December 10, 2023

The central thesis of Christianity is that Yahweh, the God of Israel, who displayed his matchless power in the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt after 430 years of oppression, who also displayed his awesome power in the return of the Jews from the Babylonian exile, has definitively revealed himself in Jesus Christ. He has deposed all the false powers of the world and reasserted himself as the new King of the world. He has effectively rendered Pharaoh, the King of Babylon, the emperor of Rome and all their successors powerless. As such, the primary task of the First Christians was to announce the Advent, the arrival of this new King. Today’s Gospel is taken from St. Mark. Who  is he? Mark was a companion of Peter. He was the interpreter of Peter; “he helped the prince of the Apostles to put his Aramaic into Greek. He helped him, too, to address those who spoke Latin.” In the Acts of the Apostles, Mark was in some stage of his career a companion of Paul. Mark’s friends— Peter and Paul were both put to death around the year 65 AD in the persecution carried out by Emperor Nero. Mark wrote his Gospel probably in Rome around the year 70 AD, just five years after his friends Peter and Paul were crucified by the State. What’s the opening line of Mark’s gospel? “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.”

When we read those words today, it can sound harmlessly familiar to us. It can sound pious to us, but in the first century, those were fighting words. Those were problem-seeking words to say. How come? The Greek word used there is euangelion, which means “good news,” “glad tidings.” Evangelism also comes from that word. In ancient times, euangelion was used to describe an imperial victory. When Caesar won a battle or stamp out a violent rebellion or insurrection, he would send out evangelists ahead with the good news, euangelion that he had won a battle. But in the opening line of his Gospel, Mark is now saying that the real good news doesn't have anything to do with Caesar. He is saying that the real victory, victory over sin and death, has been won, not by Caesar but by the one Caesar put to death but whom God raised from the dead. He is the real and true King. Mark is saying that you can have and associate with the kings of this world and with the powers that be, but he has the real good news, and it is about the victorious God of Israel. 

To rub it all in, Mark refers to Jesus as “the Son of God.” Again, calling Jesus “the Son of God” is very familiar to us, but those were fighting words too. Caesar had many titles and one of them was “Son of God.” The famous Julius Caesar was assassinated in 42 BC; but right after his death, he was formally deified as “the divine Julius.” He was given the status of a god. His adopted son, Augustus, became “the Son of God;” and that title was assumed by the Roman emperors after him. Romans more than the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks carried out the order of their emperors to the letters. They considered their emperor a divine figure. So, when Mark now said, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God” he was looking for a life ending trouble. His words were deeply subversive. He was trying to destroy or undermine an established system of governance, institution and belief. Without fear or favor, Mark was saying that the Roman emperor was not really the Son of God, that he is not the bearer of God’s order, rather, Jesus is. He is saying that Caesar’s kingdom is not the Kingdom of God. Where is Mark making this declaration? In Rome! Not in Galilee or Jerusalem. He was in the capital of the empire that killed his friends, Peter and Paul. Mark was certainly in the minority. But right at the beginning of his work he says, “I have the real Gospel; I  have the real good news, and I am here to tell you the one who is really “The Son of God” and his name is Jesus Christ.” Mark is saying that the authentic Son of God is the one who is more powerful than Caesar. 

But why did the Church give us this Gospel passage on the Second Sunday of Advent?What is the Church doing here? What’s the Church saying? The Church, which is the Bride of Christ, is saying loud and clear that Advent should not just be seen or considered as a sentimental exercise. It should not be treated as one more box to be checked in the long list of your religious questions and exercises. In the season of Advent, the Church stands up and says that all those powers that claim to be the source of order, the source of authority, the bearer of truth whose messages ought to be announced around the world, thread on social media and become breaking news on major newspapers and cable TV networks etc are not it. Jesus Christ is the bearer of divine power and the bearer of divine order. He is the true King to whom final allegiance is due. Advent is a penitential season to make the necessary adjustments in our lives and to finally allow the true King to enter into every sector of our lives and then reign and dominate.  

Veni Sancte Spiritus!