December 17, 2020
Thursday of the Third
Week of Advent
Lectionary: 181
Jacob called his sons and said to them:
“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.”
Responsorial Psalm PS 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.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
O Wisdom of our God
Most High,
guiding creation with power and love:
come to teach us the
path of knowledge!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MT 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.
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Faith in Our Redeemer Heals Regrets
Today's Gospel passage reminds me of my family tree and the ancestor who was a "black sheep" of the family. My great-great-grandfather founded a shoe store in New York City that he built up into a well-known chain of stores across the nation. He wanted his sons to inherit the family business by learning the trade from the ground floor and working their way up in responsibility. One of his sons - my great-grandfather - did not like this, so he ran away, leaving behind his wife and children.
His wife hired a detective to locate him, so he fled from the city, wound his way down through New Jersey with a false identity, and eventually settled in Pennsylvania with a new wife (while still legally married to the first one) and a new brood of children.
One of the daughters of this illegitimate marriage was my grandmother, who begat my mother, who begat me. If Great-Granddad had not been so sinful, if he'd been a morally strong, responsible fellow, I would not exist! Nor would I be writing these Good News Reflections for you.
Does this justify what he did? Of course not. What it shows is that God makes good come from EVERYthing! And that is the point of Matthew's genealogy of Jesus. It might seem boring to read or hear, but if you knew genealogy the way Matthew's audience knew genealogy, you'd find it very fascinating.
The list includes scoundrels, horse thieves, adulterers and other black sheep in the family line. Matthew did not name every generation; he highlighted the sinners to make a point: Out of a family of black sheep came an unblemished lamb who would remove the stain of sin from all generations.
If the great King David had not sinned by marrying someone else's wife, Solomon would never have been born, and from Solomon came the line that eventually begat Mary (as the genealogy in Luke 3:23-38 implies) who begat Jesus. And that is only one example of the many sinful twists and turns that brought Jesus into the world. God writes straight with crooked lines!
Do you have regrets? We all do. Instead of beating yourself up, look at how God is using them to benefit his kingdom - or how he could if you let him. If you don't see it happening yet, hand over to him the sins you've committed that you still haven't forgiven yourself for. Ask Jesus to redeem these bad situations by making good come from them. For example, turn them into a ministry that helps others avoid or recover from their own bad decisions.
Have you learned from your sins? Have you passed these lessons on to others? Has your life improved since you repented? Do you have more compassion toward others? Are you giving Jesus to people you never would have met if you had led a blameless life?
If you've not yet heard Jesus absolve you in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, go to Confession. Then, ask Jesus to apply his redemptive love to the situations that were affected by your sins. And finally, count your blessings - the signs that indicate our Redeemer is turning your regrets into goodness. Slow down and spend some time praising God for these awesome victories.
Today's Prayer
Thank You, Jesus, because You entered into our history and revealed to us our Father's wonderful love in Your wonderful name: God with us. Amen.
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God Bless You.....
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