An Exegetical Reflection on the Gospel of the Second
Sunday of Advent, Year C, Luke 3:1-6, December 9, 2012
A FEW DAYS ago, a number of
columnists wrote about China being a savior of Europe or Africa, continents
caught in a morass of economic distress.
Indeed, when we hear of the United States and Japan, we usually
associate them with countries advanced in science, technology, and
economy. We look up to them because they
have virtually become world leaders who are able to give their people comfort
and happiness that citizens of the third world normally envy. Theirs is an advanced industrial
society. Yet, the other side of the
picture of such societies is quite alarming: they have worsening air and water
pollution, mounting crimes, ghettoes, dwindling resources, to mention a
few. And one wonders whether this is a
form of collective suicide. Of course, Karl
Marx saw this, and proposed an alternative.
Since the West is individualistic, he proposed the abolition of private
property, and thought of allowing the people—the poor—to govern society. Thus, decades before, we heard of the Josef
Stalin of the Russia and Mao Tse Tung of China proclaiming themselves as
champions of the proletariat. Yet, we
who are on the other side of the fence know that these nations have their own
brand of dogmatism and bureaucracy, regimentation and inquisition, witch
hunting and police state. And not to
long ago, we saw the virtual collapse of the communist world. Hence the question: whence comes the
salvation of the world?
It is not fortuitous that today’s Gospel begins with the
name of Tiberius Ceasar, emperor of the Roman empire, Pontius Pilate, prefect
of Judea, Herod Antipas, tetrach of Galilee and Perea, and Philip, tetrach of
other parts of Galilee (Luke 3:1). As an
evangelist who has a universalist outlook, Luke takes care to relate the
significance of the gospel to the world in his time. For him, these known persons represent the
political and religious rulers at the time of Jesus. It may be recalled that as the people at
that time expected, the political rulers, on the one hand, were supposed to
save their people from hunger and lawlessness, while the religious leader, on
the other hand, were to put them in right relationship with God. Yet it is clear from the Jewish tradition
that their national rulers were hardly faithful in their task. On the contrary, they did the opposite. That is why, God, using pagan rulers as
instruments, scattered them and exiled them (2 Kings 15:29; 17:16). The Jewish religious leaders, on the other
hand, led the people astray (Jer 50:6).
They became unfaithful (Ezek 34:2-10), and even scattered the flock (Jer
23:1-2). Thus, they failed in their
responsibilities (Jer 2:8). It appears,
therefore, that if Luke mentions secular and religious rulers to preface his
account of Jesus’ ministry, it is to imply that salvation cannot come from the
religio-political establishment of his time.
Not surprisingly enough, God’s word did not come to them,
nor to any Roman or Jewish politician, but to John who, in contrast with the
Roman emperors and governors, was an unknown in the empire. The word of the Lord came to him to indicate
that salvation of the people can come from God alone (Bar 5:6), not from the
religio-political rulers of his time.
How does the prophet picture salvation? The book of Baruch presents this salvation to
us in the image of Jerusalem taking the robe of peace instead of mourning to
manifest the return of the sons of Israel from exile (Bar 5:1-4), led by God
himself (Bar 5:6). So, Jerusalem has to
look toward the east, to the coming of salvation from God (Bar 5:5). That is to say, the prophet warned his people
that if they wish to be saved, the Israelites cannot rely on their own
religio-political rulers, still less on foreign powers. If there is anyone to be depended on for
salvation, it is God alone.
The same may be said of us. No matter how altruistic the United States,
China or Japan may appear to be, no matter how they are able to show concern
for peoples in the third world, we, Christians, cannot have the illusion that
the salvation of men from all misery and want, and from evil and death could
come from the political rulers of these powerful nations. It cannot come even from our own political
rulers. Many presidents have sat on the
presidential throne, but the salvation of the Filipino people is nowhere
nearer. On the contrary, their lot has
even become worst—politically, economically, socially, environmentally. Following the exhortation of Baruch, we have
to look toward the East, to Jesus, for it is only he who can establish the new
Jerusalem in splendor and glory (Bar 5:1, 1st Reading), that is to
say, who can make us one community where justice and peace prevail, and removed
all forms of evil in this world, by showing this splendor to every nation (Bar
5:3). This is the significance of
advent. We await the coming of Jesus
from the east who alone can save us. And
as he is coming to save us, our role is simply this: we need to cultivate a
proper conduct, abounding in love, and valuing the things that really matter
(Phil 1:8-11, 2nd Reading).
This way, we accept his coming, and prepare his way (Isa 40:3-4).
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