The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to explore the Presence of God in our history, both corporate and personal.
Faith of our Fathers
The reading from the Book of Genesis is Jacob’s Testament concerning the Scepter of Judah.
* [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.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
The Gospel of Matthew presents the Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah.
* [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
Mike Cherney has done some digging into his family tree, He sees this Advent as potentially providing a time for healing.
Dear Lord,
I am often guilty of judging others without taking the time to understand.
Assist me in becoming aware of my own shortcomings and my own need for forgiveness.
Help me to use this season for the conversion of myself and my relationships.
Strengthen my resolve in addressing the harms to which I have been an indirect participant.
Prompt me with Your call to serve those in both physical and spiritual need.4
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)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Matthew 1:1-17 comments that God’s ultimate purpose for Jesus’ birth into a human family was so that every human being could become members of his family.
As you prepare to celebrate Jesus’ birth, let this truth sink in. Give thanks that you too are part of the Christmas story. Praise God for the wonder of the Incarnation of his Son. And praise him that you are no longer a “stranger” to the promises of God. You can hear his voice and know his love. You’re part of his household, and a “fellow citizen” with the saints. (Ephesians 2:12, 19). “Father, thank you for bringing each of us into your family.”6
Nicholas King SJ, a Tutor and Fellow in New Testament Studies at Campion Hall, University of Oxford, comments that the idea that Jesus is offered to us as the unfailing presence of God is there also in Matthew’s genealogy. This is a passage not to be missed, for Matthew’s first readers or hearers (who knew their Old Testament very well indeed) would have turned a knowledgeable eye upon it; and they would easily have read what the evangelist was saying about the presence of God in the story. That presence is central to his gospel.
And that is exactly what Matthew’s genealogy is about: the ancient presence of God in the story of Jesus. The overall structure of the genealogy is simple: it has three sections, each of which represents a portion of the story of Israel, of which the birth of Jesus is the climax. Section 1 traces the story from Abraham to David; and in a sense Israel’s story begins here, with the promises made to the patriarch. Section 2 traces Jesus’s ancestry, and Israel’s story, through the complex and in many ways disedifying tale of David and his offspring, when at first sight God’s promise was fulfilled. Then section 3 starts with that terrible moment of the deportation to Babylon, when it seemed that God had after all gone back on his promises. At the end of it all, it turns out that Jesus is the climax of God’s presence in Israel’s history, and that God cannot possibly abandon his chosen people. And all this is presented in a code that Matthew’s Jewish readers could not have failed to read.7
Friar Jude Winkler connects the kingly authority prophesied for Judah to David and Jesus. The word “genealogy” in Greek is Genesis and this notes a “new beginning” in Jesus' birth. Friar Jude reminds us of the unusual women in Jesus' genealogy that culminate in Mary.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces David Richo, therapist, author, and teacher, who integrates spirituality and psychology. In his book, The Sacred Heart of the World, he seeks to return the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to its cosmic origins.
It is ironic that a symbol of generous love became focused on our need to make reparation, that a powerful divine presence became associated with a saccharine image, that a liberating message became moralistic, that a call to universal compassion became a Jesus-and-I devotion. It is time to remove the past from the Sacred Heart and restore it to the meaning it had for the mystics and can have for us today. . . . The heart of Christianity is the Heart of Jesus, a passionate devotedness to the well-being of humanity. To be a Christian is to be possessed by that same passionate intention. Indeed, to say that God created the world is to affirm that it vibrates at a pitch identical to the nature of God, who is love. Indeed, the pitch we were meant to live at is love. Life does not ever feel quite right unless love is the best and greatest part of it. . . .8
The genealogy of Jesus invites us to consider the many ways that God is present in the story of humanity and the role of Divine Guidance in our ongoing transformation in love.
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