C: 2nd Sun of Advent (9 Dec 2018) - GEOPOLITICS AND MARTYRS - Lk 3:1-6

“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness” (Lk 3:1-2).

This is the long introduction to the ministry of John the Baptist in the Gospel according to Luke. Indeed, it is too lengthy in comparison with his introduction in the other gospels: a) Mt 3:1 - “In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,” b) Mk 1:4 - “John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,” and c) Jn 1:6-7 - “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.”

Aside from the fact that the Lukan introduction is longer than the other gospels, one can immediately notice the names listed in it. Tiberius Caesar is the Roman emperor that time, who had total control of the lands around the Mediterranean including Palestine. After the death of Herod the Great, Palestine was divided into three regions, viz., Judea (entrusted to Archelaus but later awarded by the emperor to Pontius Pilate), Galilea and Transjordan (ruled by Herod), and the Gentile territories north and east of the Sea of Galilee (reigned by Philip). Mentioned also are the two chief priests who were related to each other as in-laws: Annas and Caiaphas (he was married to Annas’ daughter). Instead of sharing this post to others through election, they practically took turns in being the High Priest of the temple of Jerusalem. In sum, in introducing John the Baptist, Luke provides us first with the geopolitics of his time.

But the geopolitics are not only written in the text to situate the readers to the concurrent socio-political context. They were laid out because their leaders would serve as the main recipients of the Baptizer’s message: “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (v. 3). This rite of baptism in itself was already subversive since the action of forgiving one’s sins was limited to God alone (cf. Lk 5:21). God’s power was entrusted solely to the High Priest evident in the annual Jewish Festival called Yom Kippur (“Day of Atonement”) when the High Priest would sprinkle the sacrificed blood toward the mercy seat of the Holy of Holies for the forgiveness of people’s sins.

In other words, this divine mandate was held exclusively by the religious leaders. But since these religious leaders were puppets of the political leaders of the land (i.e., Roman-endorsed kings and governors), we can easily claim that everything was indirectly controlled by the Roman Emperor. This is very explicit in the expressed fear of Caiaphas, leading them to conspire for Jesus’ arrest: “Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish” (Jn 11:50). His fear is valid because fast-forward in 70 CE, Titus and the Roman legion would storm Jerusalem, burn the whole city, and loot the temple of all her treasures.

In this macro context of helplessness, John the Baptist was a lone voice crying in the wilderness confronting the political leaders of his time to “prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight (Lk 3:4)”. He was zealous in proclaiming this message, and he was never afraid. At the end, he would be imprisoned and martyred because of his straightforward attack against the Herodian palace (Lk 3:19-20; 9:9). But that is his mission in this world with the hope that “all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (Lk 3:6).

Last Oct 14, 2018, Pope Francis canonized Archbishop Oscar Romero as a saint. He was a martyr not only of the faith but of the people as he defended their human rights. He spoke against the social injustice and violence committed by the dictatorial government in his land of El Salvador, and was assassinated while celebrating the Eucharist in 1980. He is the new John the Baptist of our times and we are called to be one too. This calling is tough but we can start small by not endorsing a government or leadership that legitimizes the continuous persecution of Christ’s messengers.

- Rex Fortes, CM