20181217
CHRIST COMES TO HEAL
OUR FAMILY TREE
17 DECEMBER,
2018, Monday, 3rd Week, Advent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Violet.
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First reading
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Genesis 49:2,8-10 ©
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Until he comes, the sceptre will not
pass from Judah
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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.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
71(72):1-4,7-8,17 ©
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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.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Wisdom of the Most High,
ordering all things with strength and
gentleness,
come and teach us the way of truth.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 1:1-17 ©
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The ancestry of Jesus Christ, the son of
David
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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 COMES TO HEAL OUR FAMILY TREE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ GENESIS 49:2, 8-10; MATTHEW 1:1-17 ]
Today, we enter into the Octave before
Christmas. Eight days from now, we will celebrate the birth of
Christ. The liturgy therefore takes pain to prepare us for His birth by
tracing the family tree of Jesus. In the gospel, we read the long
genealogy of Christ’s ancestry. At first glance, it seems to be
a list of boring and uninspiring names, many of whom we do not have much
inkling of their roles and importance in salvation history. Furthermore,
some of the names, especially the kings, were surely not good examples of
fidelity to the Lord. Rahab, Manasseh and Ahaz were of dubious character.
Rahab was a prostitute. Bathsheba the wife of Uriah was an
adulterer. Ahaz was a wicked king and brought paganism into the country
and God’s judgment as well. Of course, among the list, there were great
people like Abraham, Ruth and David.
Secondly, we are told that from
Judah, the most insignificant and smallest tribe among the Twelve, would come
the Messiah. Jacob prophesied, “Judah, your brothers shall praise
you: you grip your enemies by the neck, your father’s sons shall do you homage
… The scepter 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.”
What lessons can we draw from scripture?
Firstly, that like Jesus, our family tree is not perfect. It
is significant that He came from a line of broken people. In other words,
He did not have a perfect family tree. We too should not be ashamed of
ourselves when we go through our family history. As we reflect on our
family tree, we should not be surprised that we too have some family members
who committed shameful crimes and sins. But we too will find some
exemplary relatives who have given hope and pride to the family. Instead
of hiding from the fact that not all members of the family are doing well or
have done well, let us accept the reality of sin and brokenness in our lives.
In every family there are skeletons. There are some who are regarded as
the black sheep of the family. Sometimes, it is so difficult to admit
that not all our family members are living good and happy lives. The
failure to accept sin and brokenness in our family will lead to hypocrisy, and
by denying and hiding the truth, we cannot help them to put things right.
Jesus was not ashamed of His ancestors. He calls all of us His brothers
and sisters. Let us therefore not pretend or feel embarrassed when
someone mentions that our brother, sister, uncle or aunt has done something
wrong, like being involved in a crime.
Secondly, God can write straight
in crooked lines. When we study St Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus,
we find that he categorized the family tree of Jesus into three periods, with
each phase of history comprising fourteen generations. “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.” The first era of salvation history therefore began with
Abraham, the father of faith and ended with King David. The second stage
illustrates the fall of Israel and the resultant exile in Babylon. The
final stage saw the restoration of Israel with its completion by Christ who is
the Davidic King, priest and messiah. The intention of St Matthew is to
portray the divine plan of God unfolding, irrespective of man’s cooperation and
infidelity. God’s plan cannot be destroyed by the sinfulness of
man. Since the fall of humankind, God has already initiated the plan of
redeeming His people, beginning from Abraham. The arrival of Jesus is not
by chance but in accordance with the divine plan of God. In His infinite wisdom
and divine providence, God had prepared the people of Israel to receive the
Messiah by sending them prophets and allowing the vicissitudes of history to
purify them to welcome the Messiah.
Thirdly, to affirm that “Jacob was the
father of Joseph the husband of Mary;
of her was born Jesus who is called Christ”, the evangelist confirms that Jesus is truly from the dynasty of David, and therefore the true King and Messiah on one hand. However, on the other hand, it shows that Jesus is truly a man and shares all our human conditions except that He did not sin. He too knows human frailty, the sufferings of humanity because of sin, injustice and weakness.
of her was born Jesus who is called Christ”, the evangelist confirms that Jesus is truly from the dynasty of David, and therefore the true King and Messiah on one hand. However, on the other hand, it shows that Jesus is truly a man and shares all our human conditions except that He did not sin. He too knows human frailty, the sufferings of humanity because of sin, injustice and weakness.
More importantly, although Jesus’ family
tree was not perfect, He did not allow Himself to be dragged down by the sins
of His ancestors. Through Him, a new family protected by the
grace of God was established. For this reason, when Jesus was
conceived, the Holy Spirit overshadowed Him and removed Him from Original Sin
and the consequences that come from original sin. Jesus, as the New
and Second Adam, is fit to lead us to the Heavenly Father. It is true
that our family tree can affect us because of the effects of original sin, both
in our human nature and the environment. But through Him, we too can share in
His divine sonship by becoming the adopted children of God. By virtue of
our baptism, we receive the grace of God to live a holy life and a life of
God. We need not condemn ourselves to disaster just because we did not
have a good family background, especially if our parents are divorced; our
siblings have failed relationships and done all kinds of immoral
activities. We can be different. Our lives are not doomed to
failure. Through Christ, we can break all curses and negative effects of
our family tree from befalling on us.
Just as Judah, the most insignificant
tribe, was chosen to be the one whom the Messiah would come, so too God
will choose the weak, the lowly and the unknown and ordinary people of society
to be His instruments of salvation. He chose Mary, a lowly handmaid,
to be the Mother of Jesus. He chose sinners like St Peter and St Paul to
be pillars of the Church He had established. He chose the weak and the
simple, the uncouth, like the shepherds, to announce the arrival of the birth
of the Messiah. Indeed, He chose the weak to shame the strong. We
too can make a difference in our family. We must not resign ourselves to
a fatalistic mentality, as if we cannot change the unfortunate course of our
family tree. Each one of us can, with the power of God’s grace in Christ,
turn whatever is sinful, negative and shameful in our family line to something
positive and edifying. There is a role for each one of us to play in
redeeming our family members from following the path of perdition.
So, as we approach the feast of Christmas,
we must spend time going through our family tree. Let us give thanks to
God for our ancestors. Let us search and remember what they have done for
us. In spite of their imperfections, mistakes and follies, they too have
tried to live a good life within the constraints they were in. They too
had their fair share of struggles to do the right thing, of failures and
success. So for the good they have done for us and the blessings
we have inherited through them, let us give praise and thanks to God for them.
On the other hand, if we uncover
some skeletons in the cupboard, let us not be ashamed but accept our human
condition. We too are sinners like them. When we see their
mistakes, we do not condemn them but we ask the Lord to forgive them so that
they too can forgive themselves. It is also important for us to offer our
members of the family, living and dead, our forgiveness. Let us assure
them that we hold nothing against them because they too were ignorant and more
often than not, reacting to the perceived hurts that others inflicted on them,
or their fears of loneliness, suffering and rejection. We must pray for
them and ask God to give them the grace of reconciliation during this
Christmas. On our part, if we can, let us reach out to them and be
reconciled so that instead of darkness, we shed light; joy instead of sadness,
hope instead of despair, forgiveness instead of condemnation.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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