Second Sunday of Advent [B]
December 6, 2020
Mark 1:1-8
On the second Sunday of Advent, we are reading from the beginning of the Gospel of Mark. After all, this is the beginning of liturgical year B, and it is fitting to start with the first chapter of Mark. Yet, unlike Matthew and Luke, Mark has neither infancy narratives nor the childhood stories of Jesus. Mark commences his Gospel with John the Baptist, who announces the repentance and the coming of Christ.
Mark, among the four gospels, is arguably the least popular. This happens for understandable reasons. Mark is the shortest Gospel, and it has only 16 chapters and around fifteen thousand Greek words. [Matthew has around twenty-three thousand while Luke has twenty-five thousand]. Many stories in Mark are also found in Matthew and Luke, but many materials in Matthew or Luke are absent in Mark. Thus, people who read Matthew tend to skip Mark because they believe they have read Mark. This is certainly unfortunate because Mark has its characters and emphasis.
Mark is action-oriented Gospel. It immediately starts with a man of action, John the Baptist. Mark presents Jesus as someone who always in the move and is active. Mark does not write much about Jesus’ preaching but focuses on what Jesus does. He preaches the good news, heals the sick, exorcises the demons, does miracles, calls disciples, and travels a lot. Mark’s Gospel is also fast-paced, yet, despite the fast-moving events, Mark often paints more details in his accounts, like the Gerasene demoniac story [Mar 5:1-20].
The traditional symbol for Mark is a lion. He acquires this symbol because his Gospel starts with John, who boldly preaches repentance, just like a lion. Yet, the Gospel of Mark itself displays the character of a lion: it delivers his point powerfully and effectively. Mark was not the twelve disciples of Jesus, and he might be an eyewitness, especially when Jesus was arrested [Mark 14:51]. The Acts of Apostles calls him John Mark, a companion of Paul and Barnabas in their missionary journey. Still, unfortunately, Mark became a source of disagreement between Paul and Barnabas [Act 15:39]. Yet, he finally reconciled with Paul [Col 4:10]. Along the way, he turned to be the companion and disciple of St. Peter in Rome [1 Pet 5:13]. Later, in the early second century, Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, testified that Mark was the interpreter of Peter and wrote down Peter’s teachings of Jesus. Because of Peter’s authority, we understand why Mark’s Gospel was selected as one of the canonical gospels.
What can we learn from Mark and his Gospel, especially this season of Advent? Mark gives us an example that we can approach Jesus in our unique characters. While Mark is writing about Jesus, he does not have to compose like John. Like Mark, we do not have to be someone else in loving God. While the saints serve as role models, we are invited to love Him with our unique personalities and ways. While we are united in one Church, our personalities do not disappear but rather enhanced in serving one another. Unless we recognize who we are fundamentally in Christ, we are going to fail to love authentically.
Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP
photocredit: samantha-sophia
We are entering a joyful season of Advent. The first Sunday of Advent is also the beginning of the liturgical year of the Catholic Church. Advent is from the Latin word “adventus” meaning “the coming.” From this name alone, we can already deduce the purposes of this lovely season. It is to prepare us for the coming of Jesus, yet we must not forget that the Church teaches us that there are two comings. The first coming is two thousand years ago in Bethlehem, as a baby at Mary’s hands. The second coming is Jesus’ arrival at the end of time as the glorious king and the judge.
To be the subject of a king is a foreign experience for many of us. I was born in Indonesia, and our country is a republic, and we espouse democracy to elect our leader. Some of us are citizens of kingdoms like Great Britain, Belgium, Thailand, and Japan, but the kings or queens here are serving under the constitution. When we speak of absolute monarchs, we are reminded of the powerful ancient kingdoms like Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires. Here, the king’s words are the highest law, and disobedient to the king’s wish is acts of treason. Surprisingly, we still have some existing absolute monarchs in our time, like Brunei, Saudi Arabia, and the Vatican!
The original meaning of talent is not God’s given ability, but a unit of weight and value, normally gold and silver. More importantly, talent is a huge amount of money. One talent is equal to around six thousand denarii. If one denarius is the wage of ordinary daily labor, one talent means six thousand days of works or approximately seventeen to twenty years of work.
A wedding ceremony is one of the most beautiful events in many cultures and societies. This includes the Jewish community in the first century AD Palestine. For the Hebrew people living in the time of Jesus, the wedding ceremony has two stages. The first one is the exchange of vows or betrothal. The couple is officially married, and they are recognized as husband and wife in the eyes of the Jewish community. Yet, they are going to wait for around one year before they are living together. The husband will prepare for the house as well as the reception celebration that may last for seven days.
Today the Church is celebrating the Solemnity of all saints. This is one of the ancient feasts in the Church that commemorates and honors all holy people who had gone before us and received their eternal reward, God Himself. We may recognize some of them, like St. Ignatius, St. Dominic de Guzman, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Catharine of Siena, but this is only a tiny fraction of the entire heavenly host. There are countless we are not aware of. The good news is that all of them are praying for us, and who knows, some of our departed beloved have been parts of this holy communion.
The question is, “what is the greatest law?” Once again, the historical and religious context is important. When Jesus and the Pharisees discuss the Law, they are speaking about particular Law. It is neither criminal law nor international law. It is the Law of Moses, the Torah, which points to Moses’s five books. According to the tradition of the Rabbis, the Torah contains 613 specific laws. Thus, the Pharisee is questioning Jesus on the most important among 613 commandments.
To understand today’s Gospel, we need to make time travel to the time of Jesus. The Jewish people in the first century AD Palestine were not free people, and they were subject to the Roman empire. Being subjects, they were required to submit heavy taxes. This money would eventually use to pay the army that maintained “the security” of Palestine. Naturally, paying taxes was one of the most irritating and politically charged issues. “Why should I pay for my own oppression?”
The vineyard owner in today’s parable is extraordinary. He knows that the tenants are greedy and corrupt, and if I had been the owner, I would have expelled the tenants right away. Yet, this owner is doing the opposite. He keeps sending His envoys and pleading with them, to the point of giving his own son, the true heir. This vineyard owner must be crazy! Yet, that is how much merciful, and patient God is. However, that is not the end of the story. The thing is if we keep abusing God’s mercy, His justice will eventually prevail.
Reading the entire Matthew chapter 21, we will get the sense of the parable of the two sons of the vineyard owner. Jesus just entered the city of Jerusalem and was welcomed by the people with a shout of “Hosanna” and palm branches. Then, he proceeded to the Temple area to cleanse it from the malpractices plaguing the holy ground. Thus, the elders and chief priests, the one who was in charge of the Temple, questioned Jesus, “who are you? By what authority do you act and teach?”
In Medio Ecclesiae 