Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

“The Nativity”
by Jacob de Backer, 1580’s

Readings for December 18 [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Jeremiah 23:5-8
 
Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
As king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name they give him:
“The LORD our justice.”
 
Therefore, the days will come, says the LORD,
when they shall no longer say, “As the LORD lives,
who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt”;
but rather, "As the LORD lives,
who brought the descendants of the house of Israel
up from the land of the north”–
and from all the lands to which I banished them;
they shall again live on their own land.
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Commentary on Jer 23:5-8
 
This passage is part of the “Booklet on Kings.” In the first part of the booklet, the people were warned of the exile to come because of the king’s failure to keep the covenant with the Lord.  In this selection, the prophet exhorts the Hebrew leaders to rule with justice, with special attention to the poor. The last two verses of this passage were probably written during the exile, looking forward to the return to the land. We see in this passage the prophet Jeremiah predicting the coming of the Messiah who will rule with justice for all time.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19
 
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.
 
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
 
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
who alone does wondrous deeds.
And blessed forever be his glorious name;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
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Commentary on Ps 72:1-2, 12-13, 18-19
 
Psalm 72 is one of the Royal Psalms sung for the king. It is a prayer that the civil leader may rule with the justice of God. In doing so compassion will be shown to the poor and the wealth of the kingdom will be shared with the poor. In the Advent season, we see this song sung by the Messiah who comes with justice for the poor. The final strophe is concluded with praise for a God who, while unseen, makes his presence known through his creation.
 
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Gospel: Matthew 1:18-25
 
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
 
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
 
which means “God is with us.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
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Commentary on Mt 1:18-25
 
This passage is the beginning of St. Matthew’s story of the nativity of Jesus. Joseph is being told by the angel that he should bring Mary into his home as wife and the paternity of the child is the Holy Spirit.
 
This is the story of Holy Mary’s virginal conception of the Only Begotten Son of God.  While St. Joseph is never called the father of the Lord, Mary’s intimate contact with God through the Holy Spirit is communicated and her future role as the “Mother of God” is sealed.
 
"The angel's message is urgent: Joseph must maintain his marriage in order to be the foster-father of Jesus. As a descendant of King David, he imparts to Jesus Davidic (royal) rights of inheritance. Matthew's portrait of Joseph recalls the Old Testament patriarch Joseph. (1) Both share the same name (Matthew 1:18; Genesis 30:24); (2) both have fathers named Jacob (Matthew 1:16; Genesis 30:19-24); (3) God spoke to both of them through dreams (Matthew 1:20-21; Matthew 2:13, 19-20, 22; Genesis 37:5-11); (4) both were righteous and chaste (Matthew 1:19; Genesis 39:7-18); (5) both saved their families by bringing them to Egypt (Matthew 2:13; Genesis 45 16-20)." [4]
 
He also told him to name the child Emmanuel ("God with us"). The story ends with Joseph accepting the role and the command of the angel. “The natural genealogical line is broken but the promises to David are fulfilled; through Joseph's adoption the child belongs to the family of David. Matthew sees the virginal conception as the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14.”[5]
 
CCC: Mt 1:16 437; Mt 1:18-25 497; Mt 1:20 333, 437, 486, 497; Mt 1:21 430, 437, 452, 1507, 1846, 2666, 2812; Mt 1:23 497, 744
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Reflection:
 
The Church teaches that God reveals himself to mankind gradually –
 
The divine plan of Revelation is realized simultaneously "by deeds and words which are intrinsically bound up with each other" and shed light on each another [sic]. It involves a specific divine pedagogy [teaching]: God communicates himself to man gradually. He prepares him to welcome by stages the supernatural Revelation that is to culminate in the person and mission of the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ.[6]
 
This statement from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) is demonstrated in Sacred Scripture as we see two stages of revelation recalled in the reading from Jeremiah. Then, in St. Matthew’s Gospel, the final stage of God’s revelation is shown to St. Joseph in a dream as the Father’s plan unfolds before us.
 
His divine plan, the whole idea of God setting in motion the events leading to complete revelation, surpasses human understanding.  We see indistinctly the touch points God has had with humankind since the beginning as recorded in the Bible. Those direct interactions are indistinct because the events were recorded and passed down through human authors and chroniclers who were limited by language and understanding, being the tools they were meant to be.  But what they do show us is a dawning understanding of the Lord’s intent toward us. 
 
While God’s revelation was completed in Christ, and no new divine revelation followed his Only Begotten Son, our understanding of these events is incomplete.  Starting with those people closest to Jesus, the body of human understanding has grown over the years.
 
In the Gospel today we see a reference to an ancient prediction: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel.”  Isaiah announced this event even before the great Babylonian Exile, half a millennia before Joseph’s dream.  Would Joseph have made the connection to Isaiah’s oracle about the Messiah had that dream not painted the picture?  Would Joseph have awakened from that dream and wondered: “Where have I heard those words before?”
 
It is good that God does not overestimate our ability to take in all that he has planned for us.  We come to faith so slowly sometimes, and the sheer magnitude of his love for us continues to be revealed to us as we grasp through faith the reality of Christ.  Each time the story plays through, we get a clearer picture, come to a personal revelation that is more complete.  Awe at God’s plan once more fills us, and our anticipation of the great feast grows.
 
Pax
 
O Antiphon for December 18^th [7]
 
O Sacred Lord of ancient Israel, who showed
yourself to Moses in the burning bush, who gave
him the holy law on Sinai mountain: Come, stretch
out your mighty hand to set us free.
 
O Adonai, et dux domus Israel,
qui Moyse in igne flammae rubi apparuisti,
et ei in Sina legem dedisti:
veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.
 

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[1] The picture is “The Nativity” by Jacob de Backer, 1580’s.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[4] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, New Testament (Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. © 2010),8.
[5] NAB footnote on Matthew 1: 18-25.
[6] CCC 53.
[7] The Roman Church has been singing the "O" Antiphons since at least the eighth century. They are the antiphons that accompany the Magnificat canticle of Evening Prayer from December 17-23. They are a magnificent theology that uses ancient biblical imagery drawn from the messianic hopes of the Old Testament to proclaim the coming Christ as the fulfillment not only of Old Testament hopes, but present ones as well. Their repeated use of the imperative "Come!" embodies the longing of all for the Divine Messiah. (USCCB)