Reading 1 Gn 49:2, 8-10
Jacob called his sons and said to them:
"Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob,
listen to Israel, your father.
"You, Judah, shall your brothers praise
--your hand on the neck of your enemies;
the sons of your father shall bow down to you.
Judah, like a lion's whelp,
you have grown up on prey, my son.
He crouches like a lion recumbent,
the king of beasts--who would dare rouse him?
The scepter shall never depart from Judah,
or the mace from between his legs,
While tribute is brought to him,
and he receives the people's homage."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 72:1-2, 3-4ab, 7-8, 17
R. (see 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king's son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
The mountains shall yield peace for the people,
and the hills justice.
He shall defend the afflicted among the people,
save the children of the poor.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R. Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Gospel Mt 1:1-17
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.
Meditation: Matthew 1:1-17
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ.” (Matthew 1:1)
Today’s Gospel passage gives us a crash course in Israelite history. Many familiar names stand out: the Patriarchs, Boaz, David, Solomon, Josiah. Many are obscure: Ram, Asa, Akim. But isn’t it intriguing to think about how long God had been setting the stage for Jesus’ arrival? By human standards, the first Christmas was a humble event, with only a few shepherds in attendance. But in heaven, the great jubilee over Jesus’ coming to earth was probably unprecedented in scale. Untold legions of angels erupted in praise at the long-awaited birth of the infant Jesus!
And so here we are, eight days from celebrating the culmination of our own planning. Why not try something different? Why not try to imitate the jubilation that went on in heaven on that first Christmas Day? And what better way to do that than to throw a special party for Jesus? Yes, most of us will have office parties, family get-togethers, and special foods to celebrate the season. But what about dedicating a party completely to Jesus?
You could invite family or the neighbors over. You could bake a cake or other dessert and decorate it with scenes from the Nativity. You could inspire creativity by commissioning each person to work on an artistic project before the party—a poem, a skit, a drawing, or even a short video celebrating the day. Then everyone can present their finished projects at the party. Maybe you could spend a portion of the time singing Christmas carols together or praying the rosary as a group. Really, you can celebrate however you see fit. There’s only one point, one goal. That is to honor the coming of Jesus.
God loves celebrations! He loves family gatherings. He especially loves it when families dedicate some time to showing their gratitude to Jesus and their love for each other. So find a way to welcome him into your home more fully this year, and you will be blessed for it. Most of all, make sure that you have fun doing it!
“Jesus, my heart is filled with joy at your coming! Show me new and creative ways to express my joy and share it with the people around me.”
No comments:
Post a Comment