Readings for Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Genesis 49:2, 8-10
“Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob,
listen to Israel, your father.
“You, Judah, shall your brothers praise
–your hand on the neck of your enemies;
the sons of your father shall bow down to you.
Judah, like a lion’s whelp,
you have grown up on prey, my son.
He crouches like a lion recumbent,
the king of beasts–who would dare rouse him?
The scepter shall never depart from Judah,
or the mace from between his legs,
While tribute is brought to him,
and he receives the people’s homage.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Gn 49:2, 8-10
To set the context of this reading, Jacob (“Israel”, son of Isaac, son of Abraham) is on his death bed. He calls his sons to him and begins to speak to them prophetically, telling them what they will accomplish. After going through Ruben, Simeon, and Levi he comes to Judah. Judah, we hear, will be praised by his older brothers and his line shall produce Kings over the land. This reading from Genesis is traditionally viewed as the beginning of the genealogy that leads first to King David and ultimately to the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. The Hebrew text is interpreted "until he comes to whom it belongs."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:[4] Psalm 72:1-2, 3-4ab, 7-8, 17
R. (see 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
The mountains shall yield peace for the people,
and the hills justice.
He shall defend the afflicted among the people,
save the children of the poor.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 72:1-2, 3-4ab, 7-8, 17
Psalm 72 is one of the Royal Psalms, sung by the king who prays to God for wisdom that he might be seen as dealing justly with the people and compassionately with the poor. He concludes this selection asking for God’s blessing for himself and all the people he governs. We see this psalm, placed between the beginning of the genealogy from Genesis and the genealogy of Christ from St. Matthew’s Gospel as a song extolling the generous and compassionate rule of the Messiah, the King to come.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 1:1-17
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar.
Perez became the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab.
Boaz became the father of Obed,
whose mother was Ruth.
Obed became the father of Jesse,
Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asaph.
Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah became the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amos,
Amos the father of Josiah.
Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the Babylonian exile.
After the Babylonian exile,
Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.
Abiud became the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok.
Zadok became the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar became the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
Thus the total number of generations
from Abraham to David
is fourteen generations;
from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;
from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,
fourteen generations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 1:1-17
St. Matthew, speaking to a predominantly Jewish audience who call themselves “Sons of Abraham”, produces the genealogy of Jesus starting with Abraham. The critical purpose is to show that Jesus was of the line of King David. This was important as a demonstration that Jesus was the Messiah as predicted in the prophetic scriptures of the Old Testament (the “Prophets” as they were known and referenced by the Jewish audience).In the final verse of this reading we see the significance of Hebrew Numerology as the numbers of generations are counted. Recalling the most perfect number in this symbolic system is seven (7), we see the product of two sevens in the generations from Abraham and David, two more between King David and the Babylonian Exile, and two more from the Exile to the Messiah. Three (the formula for the most, e.g. holy, holy, holy equivalent to holy, holier, holiest) times the product of two sevens, this is six (6) sevens, one short of the perfection to be achieved when Christ will come again.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
We have added the pink Candle of Joy to the candles of Love and Hope bearing witness to the Light of Christ.
The focus of our Advent shifts today. With the readings that describe how God’s plan for our salvation has been brought to fulfillment in Christ through the generations of the faithful, we shift from the inward gaze that has been refining our hearts – making straight the path within, to looking immediately ahead to the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord.
Each year on December 17th genealogy of Jesus Christ from St. Matthew's Gospel is read to us. We hear names that over time and study have become familiar to us. They are God’s building blocks. We have said before that we have never asked a question about the faith nor come to an understanding that has not been asked before and better or answered more eloquently. The same is true of this day. This year, I’d like to present a thought by one of our predecessors in faith - Rupert of Deutz (c.1075-1130) a Benedictine monk who reflected upon this very topic. Part of his thought about the genealogy is:
“It is (the reading of the genealogy) a custom handed down by holy Church with a beauty and mystery of its own. For behold how in truth this reading puts before us at dead of night that ladder which Jacob saw at night in his sleep (Genesis 28:12). Supported on the topmost rung of the ladder where it reached heaven the Lord appeared to Jacob and promised him that his posterity would inherit the earth... Now, as we know, "all these things happened to them in figure" (1Corinthians 10:11). The ladder by which the Lord appeared to be supported prefigured the family-tree of Jesus Christ which the holy Gospel-writer so drew up as to come through Joseph. It is by Joseph that our Lord as a small child is supported. Through the gate of heaven (Genesis 28:17)..., that is, through the Blessed Virgin, our Lord, a tiny child for our sake, comes crying... The words that Jacob in his sleep heard the Lord say, "And in thy posterity shall all the nations of the earth be blessed", are fulfilled by the birth of Christ.
The divine writer, bearing in mind this very point, put the names of Rahab the prostitute and Ruth the Moabite into his genealogy. For he saw that Christ was made flesh not for the Jews alone, but also for the Gentiles, inasmuch as he deigned to accept ancestors from among the Gentiles... Sprung therefore from two races, Jew and Gentile, as from two sides of the ladder, the ancestors from their different rungs support Christ our Lord emerging from heaven. The holy angels come up and go down and all the elect are first humbled to receive faith in his Incarnation that they may be afterward lifted up to see the glory of his divinity.”
How rich is our heritage that we are blessed with the vision of the coming messiah with such eloquence and depth of faith. The days are now flying by as we await the trumpets of our coming salvation. Let us pray that the joy of this event will fill our hearts and the love and hope we feel will be an invitation to others to join in the praising chorus.
Pax
Semper Gaudete
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Genesis 49:2, 8-10
“Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob,
listen to Israel, your father.
“You, Judah, shall your brothers praise
–your hand on the neck of your enemies;
the sons of your father shall bow down to you.
Judah, like a lion’s whelp,
you have grown up on prey, my son.
He crouches like a lion recumbent,
the king of beasts–who would dare rouse him?
The scepter shall never depart from Judah,
or the mace from between his legs,
While tribute is brought to him,
and he receives the people’s homage.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Gn 49:2, 8-10
To set the context of this reading, Jacob (“Israel”, son of Isaac, son of Abraham) is on his death bed. He calls his sons to him and begins to speak to them prophetically, telling them what they will accomplish. After going through Ruben, Simeon, and Levi he comes to Judah. Judah, we hear, will be praised by his older brothers and his line shall produce Kings over the land. This reading from Genesis is traditionally viewed as the beginning of the genealogy that leads first to King David and ultimately to the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. The Hebrew text is interpreted "until he comes to whom it belongs."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm:[4] Psalm 72:1-2, 3-4ab, 7-8, 17
R. (see 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
The mountains shall yield peace for the people,
and the hills justice.
He shall defend the afflicted among the people,
save the children of the poor.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 72:1-2, 3-4ab, 7-8, 17
Psalm 72 is one of the Royal Psalms, sung by the king who prays to God for wisdom that he might be seen as dealing justly with the people and compassionately with the poor. He concludes this selection asking for God’s blessing for himself and all the people he governs. We see this psalm, placed between the beginning of the genealogy from Genesis and the genealogy of Christ from St. Matthew’s Gospel as a song extolling the generous and compassionate rule of the Messiah, the King to come.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 1:1-17
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar.
Perez became the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab.
Boaz became the father of Obed,
whose mother was Ruth.
Obed became the father of Jesse,
Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asaph.
Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah became the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amos,
Amos the father of Josiah.
Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the Babylonian exile.
After the Babylonian exile,
Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.
Abiud became the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok.
Zadok became the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar became the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
Thus the total number of generations
from Abraham to David
is fourteen generations;
from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;
from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,
fourteen generations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 1:1-17
St. Matthew, speaking to a predominantly Jewish audience who call themselves “Sons of Abraham”, produces the genealogy of Jesus starting with Abraham. The critical purpose is to show that Jesus was of the line of King David. This was important as a demonstration that Jesus was the Messiah as predicted in the prophetic scriptures of the Old Testament (the “Prophets” as they were known and referenced by the Jewish audience).In the final verse of this reading we see the significance of Hebrew Numerology as the numbers of generations are counted. Recalling the most perfect number in this symbolic system is seven (7), we see the product of two sevens in the generations from Abraham and David, two more between King David and the Babylonian Exile, and two more from the Exile to the Messiah. Three (the formula for the most, e.g. holy, holy, holy equivalent to holy, holier, holiest) times the product of two sevens, this is six (6) sevens, one short of the perfection to be achieved when Christ will come again.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
We have added the pink Candle of Joy to the candles of Love and Hope bearing witness to the Light of Christ.
The focus of our Advent shifts today. With the readings that describe how God’s plan for our salvation has been brought to fulfillment in Christ through the generations of the faithful, we shift from the inward gaze that has been refining our hearts – making straight the path within, to looking immediately ahead to the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord.
Each year on December 17th genealogy of Jesus Christ from St. Matthew's Gospel is read to us. We hear names that over time and study have become familiar to us. They are God’s building blocks. We have said before that we have never asked a question about the faith nor come to an understanding that has not been asked before and better or answered more eloquently. The same is true of this day. This year, I’d like to present a thought by one of our predecessors in faith - Rupert of Deutz (c.1075-1130) a Benedictine monk who reflected upon this very topic. Part of his thought about the genealogy is:
“It is (the reading of the genealogy) a custom handed down by holy Church with a beauty and mystery of its own. For behold how in truth this reading puts before us at dead of night that ladder which Jacob saw at night in his sleep (Genesis 28:12). Supported on the topmost rung of the ladder where it reached heaven the Lord appeared to Jacob and promised him that his posterity would inherit the earth... Now, as we know, "all these things happened to them in figure" (1Corinthians 10:11). The ladder by which the Lord appeared to be supported prefigured the family-tree of Jesus Christ which the holy Gospel-writer so drew up as to come through Joseph. It is by Joseph that our Lord as a small child is supported. Through the gate of heaven (Genesis 28:17)..., that is, through the Blessed Virgin, our Lord, a tiny child for our sake, comes crying... The words that Jacob in his sleep heard the Lord say, "And in thy posterity shall all the nations of the earth be blessed", are fulfilled by the birth of Christ.
The divine writer, bearing in mind this very point, put the names of Rahab the prostitute and Ruth the Moabite into his genealogy. For he saw that Christ was made flesh not for the Jews alone, but also for the Gentiles, inasmuch as he deigned to accept ancestors from among the Gentiles... Sprung therefore from two races, Jew and Gentile, as from two sides of the ladder, the ancestors from their different rungs support Christ our Lord emerging from heaven. The holy angels come up and go down and all the elect are first humbled to receive faith in his Incarnation that they may be afterward lifted up to see the glory of his divinity.”
How rich is our heritage that we are blessed with the vision of the coming messiah with such eloquence and depth of faith. The days are now flying by as we await the trumpets of our coming salvation. Let us pray that the joy of this event will fill our hearts and the love and hope we feel will be an invitation to others to join in the praising chorus.
Pax
Semper Gaudete
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used today is “Arrival of the Holy Family at Bethlehem” by Cornelis Massys, 1543
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[4] Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved
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