Please read the passage before reading the homily.
My sisters and brothers,
The first words of the Gospel says that Jesus is the Son of God. The Romans, who conquered the Jewish people, called the Emperor Caesar Agustus, the son of Julius Caesar, whom they also considered to be a god.
The Gospel is about Jesus, the Son of God! (Be careful, whoever calls Jesus the Son of God.) Them’s fighting words for Romans and other persecutors. Jesus is Son of God; Augustus is not son of God, nor is Donald trump, nor is Joe Biden, nor are Democrats, nor are Republicans, nor is the Gross National Product, nor is the economy the Son of God. Only is Jesus Christ the Son of God and this Gospel tells his story.
This Jesus is the Messiah, a royal figure which recalls that David had a special relationship with God, for God called him Son. This Jesus is Christ, with all the overtones of David, the King of the Jews. This Jesus is likewise Son of God with all the overtones suggested by these words.
To call Jesus Son of God is to attack the religion of the Romans, their customs and religious traditions. This is the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
After this announcement, John the Baptist appears in the desert. He is the great messenger of Jesus Christ, the one who was coming in the name of the Lord, Jesus, the Son of God. John proclaimed that Jesus was more powerful than he, and that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit. John came to announce that Jesus would make us, likewise sons and daughters of God, just as Jesus Christ is.
This is the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and likewise of us, also, because the Holy Spirit has made us to be like Jesus, the Christ and Son of God, in all truth and reality. How do we challenge ourselves to do what Jesus did? Who or what is our god or gods, the gods of the Romans, the gods of wealth or political power? Our Lord is the Son of God and the Christ. There is no other than he.