Servant of the Word: Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

“The Reconciliation of Jacob and Laban”
by Ciro Ferri, 1650’s

Commentary:

Commentary on Gn 49:2, 8-10

To set the context of this reading, Jacob (also known as “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 Reuben, 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 final verse (v.10) in Hebrew text is interpreted, "until he comes to whom it belongs."

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 72:1-2, 3-4ab, 7-8, 17

R. (see 7) 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. It was sung by the king who prayed to God for wisdom that he would be seen as dealing justly with the people and compassionately with the poor. David 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.

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Gospel: Matthew 1:1-17

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 an important 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.

CCC: Mt 1:16 437

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Reflection:

Why, we may wonder, was it so important to list the genealogy of Jesus (beyond giving those who proclaim the Gospel a serious pronunciation challenge)? St. Matthew goes to great pains to demonstrate that Jesus was a true Son of Abraham and Son of David. The title, ” Son of David,” was a title applied prophetically to the Messiah and literally to Jesus. But why do we need to know that Amos was the father of Josiah or that “Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah”?

Certainly those who pursue genealogy in their own lines appreciate the desire to know who and where they came from. But is there a more important reason to formally chronicle this information? Jesus had no children and Joseph and Mary produced no other children either, so the blood line from that branch of the root of Jesse ended triumphantly on a cross at Calvary (using the Latin derivation for that hill, meaning the skull – Golgotha from the Hebrew). Did it not?

In asking that question we may have found the reason for this list of generations (beyond the obvious simple proof that Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of the Messiah by being of the house of David). Jesus himself insured that the blood line did not end. He adopted! He adopted like no other person in the history of humankind. He made his Apostles his heirs, giving the keys to his Kingdom to St. Peter, leaving him in charge of the earthly household until he returns.

Peter, in his turn, passed those keys on to a successor and the adoption of Christ was extended to another generation. Two hundred and sixty six times (Pope Francis being the 266^th) this passing of the keys has taken place and the adoption of another generation is completed under that authority. The generations of Christ continue in us and it is our prayer that we may be worthy to accept the mantle of being known as children of the Most High.

Pax

[1] S.S. Commemoratio

[2] The picture is “The Reconciliation of Jacob and Laban” by Ciro Ferri, 1650’s