Daily Reflection – Dec 17, 2018
Monday 17 December 2018
First Reading: GN 49:2, 8-10
Responsorial Psalm:
Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
PS 72:1-2, 3-4AB, 7-8, 17
Gospel Reading: MT 1:1-17
Today’s Note: Monday of the Third Week in Advent
Gospel Reading:
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.
Reflection:
This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham. MT 1:1
The Peanuts gang have a family tree: Franklin attends the same class as Peppermint Patty, who likes to dance with Pigpen, and is the best friend of Marcie. Snoopy is the faithful dog of Charlie Brown, is best of friends with Woodstock, and would like to have Rerun as his dog.
Charlie Brown has a crush on Marcie and the Little Red Head girl. Rerun is the younger brother of Linus, who is the younger brother of Lucy. Linus has a crush on Sally, the sister of Charlie Brown. Lucy has it out for Charlie Brown and has a crush on Shroeder.
Relationships in this small cartoon gang are complex. We should not be surprised, then , that Jesus’ family tress includes all sorts of relatives – the best and the worst. I’ll bet their Hanukkah dinners were a riot!
Israel’s long history is the story of God’s dysfunctional family. Yet, even sinners have the image of God in them. Human nature does not become evil because we do evil things. What God has called “very good” will always remain “very good”. This “very good” human nature is what Jesus took upon himself when he was born to be our Saviour – to bring what is not so good in us to perfection.
Lord, make me holy as you are holy. Amen.
