The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today connect us to our spiritual roots in the Hebrew Testament as we prepare to celebrate the Birth of Jesus at Christmas.
Looking to our roots
The reading from the Book of Genesis declares the sceptre of the king shall not depart from the tribe of Judah.
* [49:1–27] The testament, or farewell discourse, of Jacob, which has its closest parallel in Moses’ farewell in Dt 33:6–25. From his privileged position as a patriarch, he sees the future of his children (the eponymous ancestors of the tribes) and is able to describe how they will fare and so gives his blessing. The dense and archaic poetry is obscure in several places. The sayings often involve wordplays (explained in the notes). The poem begins with the six sons of Leah (vv. 2–15), then deals with the sons of the two secondary wives, and ends with Rachel’s two sons, Joseph and Benjamin. Reuben, the oldest son, loses his position of leadership as a result of his intercourse with Bilhah (35:22), and the words about Simeon and Levi allude to their taking revenge for the rape of Dinah (chap. 34). The preeminence of Judah reflects his rise in the course of the narrative (mirroring the rise of Joseph). See note on 44:1–34.1
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.2
In the Gospel of Matthew, the Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah is presented for a Jewish audience.
* [1:17] Matthew is concerned with fourteen generations, probably because fourteen is the numerical value of the Hebrew letters forming the name of David. In the second section of the genealogy (Mt 1:6b–11), three kings of Judah, Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah, have been omitted (see 1 Chr 3:11–12), so that there are fourteen generations in that section. Yet the third (Mt 1:12–16) apparently has only thirteen. Since Matthew here emphasizes that each section has fourteen, it is unlikely that the thirteen of the last was due to his oversight. Some scholars suggest that Jesus who is called the Messiah (Mt 1:16b) doubles the final member of the chain: Jesus, born within the family of David, opens up the new age as Messiah, so that in fact there are fourteen generations in the third section. This is perhaps too subtle, and the hypothesis of a slip not on the part of Matthew but of a later scribe seems likely. On Messiah, see note on Lk 2:11.3
Joe Zaborowski comments that what makes this genealogy is the break from the patriarchal Jewish society at the time.
We have four women mentioned who do not fit the narrative fit for a king. We have a prostitute, a victim of sexual assault, a disguised seducer, a poor widow, and non-Jewish woman. Certainly not your typical women of Israel or those of a royal line. So, with this reading one can see the inclusivity and acceptance of all nations that is portrayed here. In that sense the love of Christ for all mankind is on display4
Don Schwager quotes “Judah who received the promise of royalty foreshadows 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)5
Friar Jude Winkler connects the selection of Judah in Genesis and the genealogy of Christ to King David. In Hebrew Gematria the numerical values for DVD (David) resonate with the 14 generations in Matthew. Friar Jude reminds us to ponder the symbolic messages in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares Wisdom is a different way of seeing and knowing. Nothing new—no perspective, no experience, nor even love can come to us when we are full of ourselves, our agendas, and our own points of view. That is why, as Beverly Lanzetta observes, self-emptying is so critical to any expression of authentic spirituality.
True emptiness is also an openness of being. It is an ongoing receptivity to the wonder of life. Having an ability to flow with what life offers, we are able to pass back and forth from the interior chambers where our soul and the Beloved meet into the world. Intimacy with the Divine offers a new quality of heart. The contemplative life teaches us how to sustain this openness that is natural to our natures, and how to employ spiritual disciplines to preserve and protect our vulnerability. Contemplative experience moves us from the intellectual idea of openness that we glimpse in fragments and in starts, to the meditative exercise of openness, and then to the orientation of our whole being toward surrender and receptivity.6
We contemplate the path of our ancestors in the faith and affirm the contribution they have made to our spiritual life today.
References
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