20251217 CHRIST IS THE FULFILMENT OF OUR DREAMS
17 December 2025, Wednesday, 3rd Week in Advent
First reading |
Genesis 49:2,8-10 |
Until he comes, the sceptre will not pass from Judah
Jacob called his sons and said:
‘Gather round, sons of Jacob, and listen;
listen to Israel your father.
Judah, your brothers shall praise you:
you grip your enemies by the neck,
your father’s sons shall do you homage,
Judah is a lion cub,
you climb back, my son, from your kill;
like a lion he crouches and lies down,
or a lioness: who dare rouse him?
The sceptre shall not pass from Judah,
nor the mace from between his feet,
until he come to whom it belongs,
to whom the peoples shall render obedience.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 71(72):1-4,7-8,17 |
In his days justice shall flourish, and peace till the moon fails.
O God, give your judgement to the king,
to a king’s son your justice,
that he may judge your people in justice
and your poor in right judgement.
In his days justice shall flourish, and peace till the moon fails.
May the mountains bring forth peace for the people
and the hills, justice.
May he defend the poor of the people
and save the children of the needy.
In his days justice shall flourish, and peace till the moon fails.
In his days justice shall flourish
and peace till the moon fails.
He shall rule from sea to sea,
from the Great River to earth’s bounds.
In his days justice shall flourish, and peace till the moon fails.
May his name be blessed for ever
and endure like the sun.
Every tribe shall be blessed in him,
all nations bless his name.
In his days justice shall flourish, and peace till the moon fails.
Gospel Acclamation |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Wisdom of the Most High,
ordering all things with strength and gentleness,
come and teach us the way of truth.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 1:1-17 |
The ancestry of Jesus Christ, the son of David
A genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham:
Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, Tamar being their mother,
Perez was the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram was the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon was the father of Boaz, Rahab being his mother,
Boaz was the father of Obed, Ruth being his mother,
Obed was the father of Jesse;
and Jesse was the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
Solomon was the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa,
Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Azariah,
Azariah was the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah;
and Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers.
Then the deportation to Babylon took place.
After the deportation to Babylon:
Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud,
Abiud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor was the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud was the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob;
and Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary;
of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.
The sum of generations is therefore: fourteen from Abraham to David; fourteen from David to the Babylonian deportation; and fourteen from the Babylonian deportation to Christ.
CHRIST IS THE FULFILMENT OF OUR DREAMS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [GENESIS 49:2,8-10; MATTHEW 1:1-17]
Today, the Church begins the Christmas Novena of Advent with the first O Antiphon, chanted before the Magnificat during Vespers: O Wisdom! We are invited to trust in the wisdom of God for humanity by embracing His salvific plan for the world. Beginning today, the lectionary draws its Gospel texts from the infancy narratives, whereas until now most of the Gospel passages were taken from the public ministry of our Lord. These Gospel texts are meant to prepare us for the imminent celebration of the Birthday of our Lord.
The Gospel text is taken from the genealogy account in Matthew’s Gospel. In the history of Israel and in the family tree of our Lord, we see that history is a mixture of both good and bad people. No one has a perfect family tree. There are twists and turns in every family, and Matthew’s account of Jesus’ family history is no different from ours. Some generations in Jesus’ family tree were critical in the fulfilment of God’s plan for humanity. Even then, they were not perfect, yet God did not expect them to be so in order to be leaders of Israel. Indeed, whether it was Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or even Moses, they all had their shortcomings. What mattered was that they were sincere in their search for God and for themselves. They eventually repented of their past and cooperated in faith with God’s plan for them. They learned from the circumstances of their lives and from their mistakes. Hence, we must not imagine that others have lived perfect lives while we alone have skeletons in our cupboards. What is important is that we learn from our mistakes and, in humility, repent and seek the will of God in our lives.
Secondly, Matthew’s genealogy of the people of Israel was meant to demonstrate that Jesus is the One whom God intended to use to bring about His divine plan for humanity. It shows us the wisdom of God at work in history. Already in the first reading from the Book of Genesis, we have the prophecy of Jacob, who declared that among all his sons, it would be from Judah that the throne would come. All the other tribes would submit to him, as Jacob said: “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; you grip your enemies by the neck, your father’s sons shall do you homage. Judah is a lion’s cub; you climb back, my son, from your kill. Like a lion he crouches and lies down, like a lioness — who dares rouse him?” Indeed, from Judah the Kingdom would be established.
Accordingly, Matthew names Jesus as the son of David, the son of Abraham, from whom King David himself originated as a member of the tribe of Judah. In this way, through Joseph and Mary, Jesus is established as coming from the tribe of Judah, confirming His royal lineage and fulfilling the prophecy that the Messiah would come from Judah. It was also important that Jesus be linked to King David so that He would be recognised as the promised King and Messiah. Thus, Jacob’s prophecy is fulfilled: “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” Equally important is the fact that Jesus is also called the son of Abraham, because Jesus is Israel’s representative and the epitome of its history. As the heir of Abraham, Jesus could bestow the blessings promised to Abraham upon His people. These blessings would also include all Gentiles, since Abraham was regarded as the first convert to Judaism.
Consequently, Matthew presents Jesus as the goal and climax of Israel’s history. His coming was entirely within the plan of God, as St Paul wrote: “When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children” (Gal 4:4-5). Similarly, the Letter to the Hebrews proclaims: “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word.” (Heb 1:1-3) Gaudium et spes sums it up beautifully as to how Jesus is the fulfilment of our history. It says: “She likewise holds that in her most benign Lord and Master can be found the key, the focal point and the goal of man, as well as of all human history. The Church also maintains that beneath all changes there are many realities which do not change and which have their ultimate foundation in Christ, Who is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.” (GS 10.3)
Some ask why the Incarnation only happened two thousand years ago, when we know human civilisation began thousands of years ago. And even biblically, the time from Abraham to Jesus was about 2,000 years, and from Jesus’s time to ours, another 2,000 years. This is because human beings need time to evolve and come to realisation through our history to discover who we are and who God is. Hence, we read of the three stages of salvific history, beginning with the Kingdom of David, the ideal king of Israel. The glory of Israel then led to complacency and decadence, resulting in their exile to Babylon, which outlined their shame, tragedy, and disaster because of evil and selfish leaders. Finally, after the return from exile, came the birth of Jesus. God is patient with us, and He does not force His ways upon us without allowing us time to grow in understanding in a human way and according to His time.
Regardless, the birth of Jesus is truly for us the realisation of God’s dream for humanity. What is this dream? Once again, we must recall the plan of God for us. In the Book of Genesis, God said: “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” (Gn 1:26) Indeed, the psalmist declared with wonder: “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honour. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands.” (Ps 8:3-6)
We, too, have been created for God’s glory. We are called to share in His life and love, and even His kingship. In the book of Revelation, we are told: “To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (Rev 1:6) In the beautiful Pilgrim Song we sing, “Man is only a pilgrim on earth. Born to be king, time is but a temporary thing, only on loan while on earth.” We are called to glorify God with our body, as St. Paul said: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor 6:19f)
Unfortunately, we all have fallen short of the glory of God. Instead of serving God as our master and Lord, we serve the world. Left to ourselves, without the wisdom of God, humankind causes more harm to itself and to others. By so doing, we frustrated the design and plan of God for humanity. St. Paul said, “For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” So, thanks be to our Lord Jesus Christ, we can regain our greatness once again by being restored in our sonship and kingship. St. Paul wrote: “They are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith.” This, then, is the history of salvation. As we enter the first day of the Octave of Advent in preparation for Christmas, we are reminded that it is through the Incarnation of God’s only Son, who came to assume our humanity, and as the perfect man, saves us all by showing us the Way, the Truth, and the Life. This, then, is the hope of Matthew’s Gospel: that through Christ, the Son of Abraham and David, He will restore our glory and our freedom so that once again, under the Kingship of Christ, “In his days justice shall flourish, and peace till the moon fails.”
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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