The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the Presence of God in our lives through our lived experience and that of our ancestors.
The reading from the Book of Genesis is Jacob’s Testament to his sons.
* [49:10] Until tribute comes to him: this translation is based on a slight change in the Hebrew text, which, as it stands, would seem to mean, “until he comes to Shiloh.” A somewhat different reading of the Hebrew text would be, “until he comes to whom it belongs.” This last has been traditionally understood in a messianic sense. In any case, the passage aims at the supremacy of the tribe of Judah and of the Davidic dynasty. (Genesis, CHAPTER 49, n.d.)
Psalm 72 is a prayer for Guidance and Support for the King.
* [Psalm 72] A royal Psalm in which the Israelite king, as the representative of God, is the instrument of divine justice (Ps 72:1–4, 12–14) and blessing (Ps 72:5–7, 15–17) for the whole world. The king is human, giving only what he has received from God. Hence intercession must be made for him. The extravagant language is typical of oriental royal courts. (Psalms, PSALM 72, n.d.)
The Gospel of Matthew presents the Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah.
* [1:1–2:23] The infancy narrative forms the prologue of the gospel. Consisting of a genealogy and five stories, it presents the coming of Jesus as the climax of Israel’s history, and the events of his conception, birth, and early childhood as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The genealogy is probably traditional material that Matthew edited. In its first two sections (Mt 1:2–11) it was drawn from Ru 4:18–22; 1 Chr 1–3. Except for Jechoniah, Shealtiel, and Zerubbabel, none of the names in the third section (Mt 1:12–16) is found in any Old Testament genealogy. While the genealogy shows the continuity of God’s providential plan from Abraham on, discontinuity is also present. The women Tamar (Mt 1:3), Rahab and Ruth (Mt 1:5), and the wife of Uriah, Bathsheba (Mt 1:6), bore their sons through unions that were in varying degrees strange and unexpected. These “irregularities” culminate in the supreme “irregularity” of the Messiah’s birth of a virgin mother; the age of fulfillment is inaugurated by a creative act of God. (Matthew, CHAPTER 1, n.d.)
Chas Kestermeier, S.J. asks what are four women doing in this list? Tamar (Genesis 38:1-2) is at the center of the story of Onan, Rahab (Joshua chapters 2 and 6) is a harlot in Jericho who helps the Hebrews enter and conquer Palestine, Ruth was a non-Jew who is one of the most attractive women in the Bible but would have been repudiated and sent away by the righteous (Ezra 9:10-12 and 10:2-44; Nehemiah 13:23-30), and Bathsheba was the victim of David’s lust, causing him to commit murder (2 Samuel 12).
All of them were unclean, sinners or attached to sinners, and yet Matthew features them – and not Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, or Judith – in his attempt to show the bond God forged with our human flesh; this was with women, and such women! God reaches out to all of us, to those whom our society and our vision of what is good and fitting for him will not accept, and he joins all humans to himself by that “bond which can never be broken” – not to those who think themselves entitled to his love but to those who need it and live in it… (Kestermeier, 2022)
Don Schwager quotes “Judah who received the promise of royalty foreshadows the Christ the King,” by Rufinus (340-410 AD).
"This can be referred to the historical Judah as well as to those kings who were his descendants (Genesis 49:8-10). They broke the back of their enemies by administering the kingdom of that people. But this can also be fittingly referred to Christ, who is praised with good reason by his brothers, that is, by the apostles whom he himself called brothers in the Gospel. And his enemies, on whose back is his hand, appear to be those whom the Father promised to place under his feet by saying, 'Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies under your feet' (Psalm 110:1). They are enemies as long as they are unbelieving and unfaithful, and for that reason they are struck on the back. But after their conversion they become brothers and praise the One who, by summoning them to the adoption of the Father, has made them his coheirs and brothers. It is said correctly that the back of the enemies is struck by Christ. All those who worshiped the idols turned their back to God, as the Lord, through the prophet, accused them by saying, 'They turned their backs to me, and not their faces' (Jeremiah 2:27). Therefore he strikes their back so that after being converted they may turn their back to the idols and raise their forehead to God and may accomplish what is written here: 'Your father's sons shall bow down before you.' In fact, they adore him when they have become sons of the Father and have received the spirit of adoption in which they cry out, 'Abba, Father' (Romans 8:15-16)." No one calls Jesus Christ Lord except those who are in the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3). (excerpt from THE BLESSINGS OF THE PATRIARCHS 1.5)
[Rufinus of Aquileia (340-410) was a friend of the Bible scholar Jerome, and, like Jerome, he departed from Italy to live in the East. For many years he lived in monasteries in Egypt and in Palestine, acquiring the learning of the Eastern churches. Towards the end of his life he returned to Italy and occupied himself in translating works of the earlier Greek Fathers into Latin.] (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 1:1-17 comments that we may wonder about four of the women in Jesus genealogy, especially since each was grafted into Jesus’ family tree in an irregular way.
When you look at your family tree and begin to feel unqualified to be part of Jesus’ family, remember Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. Remember these women who were honored to be forebears of Christ. Let the Lord show you how he can use your distinctive background, as he did theirs. You just might see how your unique story can help you bring Jesus to the world.
“Jesus, thank you that I am made part of your family through Baptism.” (Meditation on Matthew 1:1-17, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler discusses the prediction of the dynasty of David in the special blessing of Judah by Jacob. The 14 generations in the genealogy of Jesus is a Hebrew assignment of numbers to letters, Gematria, that symbolizes that Jesus is the superlative of David (DVD = 14). Friar Jude suggests that God who acted through unusual women in the past is acting in Mary through a virgin from a “know-nothing” town of Nazareth.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, invites us to reflect that the purpose of prayer and religious seeking is to see the truth about reality, to see what is. And at the bottom of “what is” is always goodness. The foundation is always Love.
Enlightenment is to see and touch the big mystery, the big pattern, the Big Real. Jesus called it the reign of God; the Buddha called it enlightenment. Philosophers might call it Truth. Many of us see it as Foundational Love. Here is a mantra you might repeat throughout your day to remind yourself of this:
God’s life is living itself in me. I am aware of life living itself in me.
God’s love is living itself in me. I am aware of love living itself in me.
You cannot not live in the presence of God. This is not soft or sentimental spirituality; ironically, it demands confidence that must be chosen many times, and surrender that is always hard won. (Rohr, 2022)
We consider the idea that “God writes straight with crooked lines” as we meditate on the pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness that is inherent in the story of our ancestors.
References
Genesis, CHAPTER 49. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 17, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/49?2
Kestermeier, C. (2022, December 16). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved December 17, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/121722.html
Matthew, CHAPTER 1. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 17, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/1?1
Meditation on Matthew 1:1-17. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved December 17, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/12/17/555980/
Psalms, PSALM 72. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved December 17, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/72?1
Rohr, R. (2022, December 17). A Benevolent Universe: Weekly Summary — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved December 17, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-benevolent-universe-weekly-summary-2022-12-17/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved December 17, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=dec17
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