20211217 THE WISDOM OF GOD’S PLAN FOR HUMANITY
17 December, 2021, Friday, 3rd Week of 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.
THE WISDOM OF GOD’S PLAN FOR HUMANITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [GENESIS 49:2,8-10; MATTHEW 1:1-17]
Today, the liturgy celebrates the O antiphons, which is the beginning of the Octave week leading into Christmas. During this period, the Church leads us to an intense time of preparation for Christmas by selecting those scripture texts at Mass that highlight the significant events pointing and preparing the People of God for the birth of our Lord. At the same time, in the evening Liturgy of the Hours, the Church prays the “O antiphons” during vespers at the Magnificat to illustrate how Jesus fulfils the prophecies of Isaiah in the Old Testament. These O Antiphons are also said at the Alleluia verse before the gospel.
Today, we pray the first O antiphon, O Sapentia, O Wisdom, the first of the messianic titles. (Isa 11:2-3; 28:29) Jesus is truly the Wisdom of God for humanity. When we read today’s scripture readings, we see how the divine plan of salvation developed in the history of humanity. Jesus is the goal and climax not just of Israel’s history but all of humanity. Since the time of Adam, as in Luke’s genealogy, God had prepared the way for the redemption of humanity after its fall. (Lk 3:23-28) Luke traced it to Adam as he was writing the gospel for the Gentiles. In the case of Matthew, he was writing for the Jews and hence he traced the genealogy to Abraham. Regardless, we see the wise and mysterious plan of God unfolding until it reaches its climax in the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus as the Wisdom of God is the Son of David, the rightful heir to the throne of David. Jesus’ lineage traces Him to the Davidic Dynasty. He came from a line of kings, David, Solomon, Rehoboam, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah and Josiah before the Babylonian captivity. After the deportation, His ancestry was traced to Zerubbabel, who rebuilt the temple of Jerusalem, and ending with Jacob the father of Joseph. What is significant is that not all were good kings. Ahaz was the most evil king in Israel who brought idolatry to the people. Yet God continued to work through good and evil men alike, bringing everything to fulfilment when the time came. No one, not even evil, can hinder the development of God’s plan. Indeed, Jesus is the fulfilment of the promise made to King David when God said, “I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Sm 7:12-14, 16) Jesus is truly the Messiah, the Anointed One.
Jesus is also the son of Abraham and thus possesses the right to bestow the blessings promised to Abraham on his people. “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, … 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.” The first reading traces Jesus’ ancestry to the tribe of Judah when Jacob prophesied that Judah would assume the sceptre in time to come. Jacob in his final blessings to his sons 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 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.” Without doubt, Jesus so beautifully fulfilled the exorable plan of God for humanity. In spite of man’s sins and infidelity, the mystery of salvation would not be impeded. God writes straight in crooked lines and He used all events good and bad to bring about His purpose for humanity.
Nevertheless, even though St Matthew was writing for the Jews, he also recognized that although Jesus belonged to the history of Israel, it was also part of God’s plan for Him to reach out to the Gentiles. To underscore this point, his list includes four Gentile women who shared in the Jewish heritage. As it was, most Jewish genealogies do not include women as they had no legal rights. But what was most amazing was that some of these were Gentile women were of dubious character. Rahab was a harlot of Jericho (Jos 2:1-7). Ruth was not a Jewess. She was a Moabitess (Ruth 1:4). She belonged to a tribe hated by the Israelites. Tamar was a seducer and an adulteress (Gen 38). Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, was the woman whom David seduced from Uriah, her husband whom he dispatched to die fighting at the front-line in the battlefield to cover up his sin. (2 Sm11-12).
By so doing, Matthew tells us that salvation is given to all. Jesus came for sinners and gentiles. No one is excluded from God’s love and mercy. Even Judah was not that worthy to be an ancestor of Jesus, for instead of standing up against the injustice of his brothers, he proposed that Joseph be sold to the Ishmaelites. But he repented later and offered to act as a guarantor by remaining behind in Joseph’s custody while his brothers went to bring Benjamin to Joseph. That is why, the good news is addressed to all of us sinners. Jesus came to call sinners, not the righteous. His love is all embracing.
Matthew reminds us that three ancestors of King David and the mother of Solomon were Gentiles. Jesus removed all barriers separating humanity. “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.” (Gal 3:28) Jesus is the Saviour of all, and not just for the Jews. God is not only for a particular race or culture. The mission to the Gentiles was not an afterthought in God’s plan, but Israel was chosen in order to be the light to the nations as Isaiah prophesied. “I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” (Isa 42:6f)
Hence, it is an important reminder that Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ who is the Saviour of the world. He did not come just for the Jews. Matthew’s gospel right from the outset portrays the Gentiles, symbolized by the Magi, as among the first to recognize Him as the Lord and Universal King of humanity. (Mt 2:12) This is why Christmas is celebrated universally in the world, even by non-Christians, because Jesus came as a Prince of Peace. He came as a little baby, vulnerable and innocent, to reveal to us the face of God living in our midst. He is not a threat to our happiness but He comes to bring us true joy and peace. He is the shining morning star that leads us all to our dream.
Indeed, Jesus is the answer to the dream of humanity. It is a dream of a restored humanity, a paradisiac life of love and unity, of fulfilment, and most of all, a life without the fear of death and separation. Jesus is the answer to all the riddles of life, of suffering, of sin, of sickness, of death. He is the solution by showing us how to live a life of love and service, in truth and righteousness. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. As the responsorial psalm says, “In his days, justice shall flourish, and peace till the moon fails.”
For us, we take consolation that in the divine wisdom of God, He will see that we are saved even in our history of infidelities. God has a plan for us all and He will use our mistakes for our salvation and that of others. We should not lose hope and give up hope when we see the bewildering trends in the world. We must believe that God is in control and that His plan for us will be accomplished in a way beyond our imagination. O Sapentia, O Wisdom of God beyond the comprehension of man. His ways are not our ways, His thoughts not ours!
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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