2nd Sunday of Advent - C 2024

Reading Scripture can be a slog sometimes.  Don’t get me wrong.  I mean no disrespect to the word of God.  But there are certain passages where it seems that the author rattles off a list of seemingly arbitrary dates and unfamiliar names, many of which we can barely pronounce.  We have such a passage in the first half of our Gospel reading for today.

“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.”

Why does Luke give us these seemingly random details?  I propose that he is writing as a kind of historian who is setting the stage for the ministry of John the Baptist.  So, rather than skip over these names and dates, let’s look at them in greater detail.

John’s ministry began in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.  I won’t go into all of the details but Tiberius was a particularly wretched emperor.  Many of the Roman emperors were bad but Tiberius was worse than most, known for his debauchery and depraved behavior.  The ancient historian Suetonius writes “He (Tiberius) acquired a reputation for still grosser depravities that one can hardly bear to tell or be told” (Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars, 44).  Tiberius was smothered to death in his bed.  He was not well liked.

Next, Luke notes Pontius Pilate with whom we are all familiar.  However, one historian from Pilate’s time write about his “corruption, and his acts of insolence, and his rapine, and his habit of insulting people, and his cruelty, and his continual murders of people untried and uncondemned, and his never ending, and gratuitous, and most grievous inhumanity” (Philo, Embassy to Gaius, 302).  Pilate wasn’t just a Roman politician put in a tight spot by the Jewish leaders.  He was an incredibly corrupt governor.

Lastly, Luke notes that Annas and Caiaphas were high priests that year.  They were corrupt priests who were eventually deposed.  Luke also notes that Herod the Tetrarch was king of Israel.  And we know from the Gospels how corrupt he was.

Luke has set the stage for us.  At every level of leadership there is corruption.  Society is broken.  The world is a dark place.  And into this darkness John the Baptist steps forth with a message of hope.  He is that one foretold by the Prophet Isaiah, that voice in the wilderness who cries out “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.”  He is the one announcing that every valley will be filled, every mountain flattened, every crooked way made straight.  God is going to fix what is broken.  In these dark times, John the Baptist announces a light.

Now, we know how the story goes.  Jesus begins His ministry, He works some great miracles, dies, rises from the dead, ascends into Heaven, and leaves His apostles with the mission to Baptize all nations.  But one has to ask: Did Jesus really fix things?  Did He really make crooked ways straight?  After all, the world was still messed up after He was born, died, and rose from the dead.  It can seem like perhaps Jesus failed in his mission.  Maybe that light fizzled out and the world still finds itself in darkness.

That perspective is shallow.  From a worldly standpoint, it may seem as though Jesus didn’t accomplish much.  But from an eternal perspective, He changed everything.  Jesus didn’t come to launch political reforms or eradicate every disease.  He came to free us from the oppression of sin and the darkness of spiritual death.

While the rulers of His day eventually passed away, what Jesus won for us—eternal life—will never pass away.  He opened the gates of Heaven, offering a hope, a light that no hardship can diminish.  One day when He returns all will be made right.  This is what we have to look forward to.  His light is immune to the darkness of this world.  The saints and followers of Christ across the ages testify to this truth: even in the face of persecution and suffering, they found freedom, joy, and peace in Him.  The darkness could not overcome their light.

This same light is offered to you and me.  Whatever burdens or struggles we face—family conflicts, financial worries, illness—Christ desires to step into our pain and offer a hope the world cannot give.  Perhaps we find ourselves in darkness and we struggle and wrestle with different burdens.  But if we allow Him to draw near, He will transform our darkness into light.  And when He comes again, He will bring ultimate freedom, wiping away every burden and shadow forever.

Our business during Advent must be to listen to the voice of John the Baptist and prepare the way of the Lord.  He longs to draw near to each of us.  Our work must be to clear away any obstacle that might hinder His coming.  The Lord is coming.  He desires to draw near to us.  Will we let Him?