20201217 HISTORY FINDS ITS FULFILLMENT IN CHRIST
17 December, 2020, Thursday, 3rd Week of Advent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: Violet.
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.
HISTORY FINDS ITS FULFILLMENT IN CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [GENESIS 49:2,8-10; MATTHEW 1:1-17 ]
When we look at our own personal history or the history of our nation or the history of the world, we see so much unpredictability, the twists and turns, the surprising endings. What man proposes, God disposes. History is full of ambiguities and surprises. The message of today’s scripture readings is that regardless of what happens in history, nothing will derail the plan of God for humanity. Man can choose not to cooperate with His plan but God will triumph over our rebellious nature. Indeed, the gospel ends the genealogy of our Lord by summing up the generations of Jesus’ family as fourteen in number. Matthew says, “fourteen from Abraham to David; fourteen from David to the Babylonian deportation; and fourteen from the Babylonian deportation to Christ.” In other words, regardless of the way history evolves, it would be within the plan of God for humanity.
When we trace the history of Israel and the ancestors of our Lord, the arrival of our Lord was very much connected to Abraham, the ideal Israelite of faith and David, the glorious king of Israel. This was how Matthew began the gospel. “A genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.” However, it is good to take note that Jesus was not the son of Joseph but the son of Mary! By acknowledging Joseph as His foster-father, Jesus was adopted into the line of David. But the family tree of Jesus was not always glorious.
The ancestry line of our Lord encompassed all kinds of people, good and bad, honest and scoundrels like Jacob. Even the Gentiles were included in the genealogical line of our Lord. Abraham was the first Gentile called to be father of a new nation. Among the women of dubious characters, we have Tamar who disguised as a prostitute to seduce Judah, her father-in-law. We have Rahab the harlot, a Canaanite hated by the Israelites. She also lied to protect the Israelite spies and herself. Then we have Ruth, a Moabitess, the grandmother of King David. Finally, we have Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah whom David had adultery with and of whom Solomon was born. The inclusion of these dubious characters and even the non-Israelites signifies that salvation is given to all, including the Gentiles. Indeed, the history of Israel and the lives of the ancestors of our Lord were very messy. They were not perfect or ideal figures but God still made use of them, their strengths and their weaknesses to fulfill His plan for humanity.
The Lord also works through the historical situations of His people. We see this clearly even in the development of the monarchy in Israel. When Moses gathered the people together, he did not envisage a monarchy for Israel because God was their king. Instead, authority rested on the priests, elders, judges and tribal leaders. The institution of the monarchy came when Israel was constantly threatened by foreign nations that brought about a radical change in the institution of the monarchy, albeit with much resistance from some quarters. Today’s first reading from Genesis anticipates the expectant change in time to come of a monarchical system for Israel, when Jacob prophesied that Judah would surpass the rest of the brothers and from Judah, a king would reign over them.
Again, it was thought that with the Davidic dynasty, God’s kingdom would be realized. But the kingdom of David failed miserably. It did not live up to their expectations. Other than King David and a few others like Hezekiah, there were very few good kings in Israel or in Judah. They were all unfaithful to the Lord and eventually brought down the kingdom of Israel and Judah. The warning of the prophet Samuel on the implications of rejecting Yahweh as king and replacing Him with an earthly king came true. (1 Sm 8:10-18) Instead of serving the people, they served themselves. Political struggles leading to killings and murder reigned throughout the monarchy of Israel. As the nation became weak, she became susceptible to the attacks of foreign nations and eventually collapsed, surrendering first to the Assyrians and then to the Babylonians. That was the end of the monarchy.
What happened to the promises that God gave to Israel that the Davidic dynasty would last forever? With the collapse of the political kingdom, the Christians had to reinterpret the scriptures to understand that it was not so much a political kingdom that the Davidic dynasty would be established eternally. It was a spiritual kingdom in the person of Jesus. As the descendant of David, the promises made to David would be realized in and through Jesus. He would establish the kingship of God over all humanity. Indeed, Jesus is the goal and climax of Israel’s history and ours. He would extend history into eternity.
Reflecting on the genealogy of our Lord and the conflicting events in the history of Israel, the ups and downs, the vicissitudes of life events, we are amazed at how the Lord continues to work in our lives. Even now, after the establishment of Christianity for the last 2000 years, there seems to be a backlash or a setback in the spread of the gospel. There is a growing secularism in the world, which is sometimes even hostile and opposed to religions, particularly the Catholic Faith. We are bewildered at the rapid degeneration of the moral and religious faith of our peoples. Peoples are abandoning institutional religions for new-age movements or some personalized religions which is a syncretism of other religions.
Lest we feel intimidated and disillusioned like the Israelites when their kingdom and monarchy collapsed, the scripture readings continue to give us hope, reminding us that what happened to Israel politically will also happen to us spiritually. Like Israel, God calls us to be His chosen people for His glory and our happiness. But instead of realizing our dream to be the model of how life should be lived, we fall into sin. Instead of serving God and His people, we serve ourselves. Most of all, instead of acknowledging Him, we proclaim ourselves as gods in our times. Left to himself, man has lost his goal, his orientation, his identity and purpose in life. By rejecting God’s plan for humanity, man has no other plans. He lives aimlessly and is unable to find fulfillment on earth.
But just like Israel, God will allow our sins and our history to unfold gradually in our lives. God will continue to make use of us, as He did with Israel, inadequate and sinful as we are, for His purpose. God will somehow not allow His plan to be derailed in spite of the sins and infidelities of humanity. He will write straight in crooked lines. So long as history continues, God will continue to offer us salvation and restoration in and through His Son. Jesus came to rescue us from our sins. With Jesus, we do not have to regret our past broken lives but humbly accept that God will use our mistakes for our further growth. Instead of blaming and condemning ourselves, let us see how the Lord is helping us to grow through our sinful situations. We must use the irregularities in our lives, in our family history, in our relationships to help us grow in understanding, in compassion, in solidarity with the struggles of our fellowmen. We must see them as stepping stones for growth.
What is important is whether we have learned from our mistakes in life. Have we learnt at all or are we just repeating history over and over again? If we do not repent, then we will have to go through the tumultuous history of Israel and of the individuals which we have seen. If there is no peace in our lives, but only quarrels, competition, slander, cheating and greed, it is because we have not learnt to let go and let Jesus take control of our lives. So, let us free ourselves from greed and ambition that upsets our life. Instead, let us surrender our lives completely to Him so that He can carry out His divine plan for humanity through us. The Lord can use us no matter how talented we are, or otherwise, no matter how good or unworthy we are. If we feel our life is in a mess, and if we are willing to surrender the mess to Him, He will use our messes to accomplish greater things than we can imagine, just as in the case of Jacob, Rahab, David, Bathsheba and St Paul.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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