Readings for Monday of the Third Week of Advent[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary: (Note: Weekday readings for today, December 17th, through the 24th are the same for years I and II.)
Reading 1 Genesis 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 Psalm 72:1-2, 3-4ab, 7-8, 17
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
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
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:
To those of us who have faith that Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed one who came to fulfill God’s promise of salvation, we wonder what need is there to recall the Lord’s lineage each year at this time? Perhaps one of our earliest memories of the faith is being told how the baby Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem. We took this on faith and did not need to have the ancestry of his biological father Joseph traced back to Abraham.
To answer this question we only need to ask any small child in line to see Santa Clause at the mall “What is Christmas about?” (By the way, do not try this at a Church function. I was surprised the other night when I asked a three year old if he was excited about Santa Clause, “Old St. Nicholas” coming to his house. I was totally flabbergasted when he looked at me with very large eyes, somewhat troubled by my question, and said “We celebrated St. Nicholas feast day last week. (St. Nicholas’ memorial is on December 6th)” If I knew who his parents were I would have kissed them. Talk about keeping the Feasts of the Church in perspective.) In most cases those children, flush with excitement, would know only that Santa Clause was coming to their house to give them presents. The story of Jesus birth would not have been passed down.
Today we recall the depth of God’s plan. We are once more in awe of the Father who thinks not in terms of years or even centuries but in terms of eternity. When we think of the two thousand years of generations that it took to produce the Messiah and the two thousand years since, we are humbled by the one God who, because of his great love for us, is willing to be so patient with his creation.
The message we take away from the Holy Scripture today is a great hope for the future that is rooted in our faith in the past. Christ came, according to God’s plan, it is documented clearly. It happened just as we were told it would. We are told also that the Lord is not lost to us, Jesus will come again and at that coming his faithful promise will be fulfilled. Our hope increases our faith, and our faith transforms the world.
Pax
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary: (Note: Weekday readings for today, December 17th, through the 24th are the same for years I and II.)
Reading 1 Genesis 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 Psalm 72:1-2, 3-4ab, 7-8, 17
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
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
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:
To those of us who have faith that Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed one who came to fulfill God’s promise of salvation, we wonder what need is there to recall the Lord’s lineage each year at this time? Perhaps one of our earliest memories of the faith is being told how the baby Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem. We took this on faith and did not need to have the ancestry of his biological father Joseph traced back to Abraham.
To answer this question we only need to ask any small child in line to see Santa Clause at the mall “What is Christmas about?” (By the way, do not try this at a Church function. I was surprised the other night when I asked a three year old if he was excited about Santa Clause, “Old St. Nicholas” coming to his house. I was totally flabbergasted when he looked at me with very large eyes, somewhat troubled by my question, and said “We celebrated St. Nicholas feast day last week. (St. Nicholas’ memorial is on December 6th)” If I knew who his parents were I would have kissed them. Talk about keeping the Feasts of the Church in perspective.) In most cases those children, flush with excitement, would know only that Santa Clause was coming to their house to give them presents. The story of Jesus birth would not have been passed down.
Today we recall the depth of God’s plan. We are once more in awe of the Father who thinks not in terms of years or even centuries but in terms of eternity. When we think of the two thousand years of generations that it took to produce the Messiah and the two thousand years since, we are humbled by the one God who, because of his great love for us, is willing to be so patient with his creation.
The message we take away from the Holy Scripture today is a great hope for the future that is rooted in our faith in the past. Christ came, according to God’s plan, it is documented clearly. It happened just as we were told it would. We are told also that the Lord is not lost to us, Jesus will come again and at that coming his faithful promise will be fulfilled. Our hope increases our faith, and our faith transforms the world.
Pax
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The picture used today is “Ancestors of Christ: figures” by Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1511 This is one of 15 panels depicting the ancestors of Christ found in the Cappella Sistina at the Vatican.
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