Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Wednesday, 17 December 2014

Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Wednesday, 17 December 2014
Meditation - Matthew 1:1 The family tree of Jesus Christ, David’s son, Abraham’s son:
2-6 Abraham had Isaac,
Isaac had Jacob,
Jacob had Judah and his brothers,
Judah had Perez and Zerah (the mother was Tamar),
Perez had Hezron,
Hezron had Aram,
Aram had Amminadab,
Amminadab had Nahshon,
Nahshon had Salmon,
Salmon had Boaz (his mother was Rahab),
Boaz had Obed (Ruth was the mother),
Obed had Jesse,
Jesse had David,
    and David became king.
6-11 David had Solomon (Uriah’s wife was the mother),
Solomon had Rehoboam,
Rehoboam had Abijah,
Abijah had Asa,
Asa had Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat had Joram,
Joram had Uzziah,
Uzziah had Jotham,
Jotham had Ahaz,
Ahaz had Hezekiah,
Hezekiah had Manasseh,
Manasseh had Amon,
Amon had Josiah,
Josiah had Jehoiachin and his brothers,
    and then the people were taken into the Babylonian exile.
12-16 When the Babylonian exile ended,
Jeconiah had Shealtiel,
Shealtiel had Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel had Abiud,
Abiud had Eliakim,
Eliakim had Azor,
Azor had Zadok,
Zadok had Achim,
Achim had Eliud,
Eliud had Eleazar,
Eleazar had Matthan,
Matthan had Jacob,
Jacob had Joseph, Mary’s husband,
    the Mary who gave birth to Jesus,
    the Jesus who was called Christ.
17 There were fourteen generations from Abraham to David,
    another fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile,
    and yet another fourteen from the Babylonian exile to Christ.
3rd Week of Advent
The genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1)
A family of liars, adulterers, murderers, fornicators, connivers, and blasphemers. What a miserable lot! And yet the most famous member of this family tree isn’t known for some heinous crime. Quite the opposite, in fact. He is God become man.
Why do you think God chose such a rogues’ gallery of ancestors for his Son? Is this the best he could come up with? In a sense, yes! No matter how good any family may look on paper, they are still fallen, imperfect human beings.
Centuries of biblical history have shown us that God doesn’t usually choose the bravest or the strongest or even the holiest people to fulfill his plan. He chooses ordinary, sinful people. And so Jesus was born into an imperfect line—but a line that was made holy by God’s grace. God can work with anything. In fact, it delights him to fill us, cracked and leaky vessels though we are, with his overflowing love.
Do you feel unworthy of being part of God’s plan? You’re right: you are! We all are. However spotty our personal history or family tree, it doesn’t keep the Lord from offering us a new identity as his sons and daughters. Everyone who is baptized into Christ is grafted into a spotless lineage.
God redeemed a line of misfits and miscreants with his power. And he used this family as an important part of his plan. Even so, he is ready to do the same for you. You are more than able to bring Christ into the world, just as David, Solomon, Moses, and all the others did.
So come to the Lord and ask him to show you his plans for your life. Does he want you to bring Christ to someone in your life? Will you let him renew your zeal for sharing the good news? You are part of a royal line, and nothing is impossible for God!
“Thank you, Father, for making me part of your family. Help me to take up my role in your great plan. Unworthy though I am, let me be your light to the world!” Amen!
Genesis 49:2 Come together, listen sons of Jacob,
    listen to Israel your father.
8-12 You, Judah, your brothers will praise you:
        Your fingers on your enemies’ throat,
        while your brothers honor you.
    You’re a lion’s cub, Judah,
        home fresh from the kill, my son.
    Look at him, crouched like a lion, king of beasts;
        who dares mess with him?
    The scepter shall not leave Judah;
        he’ll keep a firm grip on the command staff
    Until the ultimate ruler comes
        and the nations obey him.
    He’ll tie up his donkey to the grapevine,
        his purebred prize to a sturdy branch.
    He will wash his shirt in wine
        and his cloak in the blood of grapes,
    His eyes will be darker than wine,
        his teeth whiter than milk.
Psalm 72: A Solomon Psalm
1-8 Give the gift of wise rule to the king, O God,
    the gift of just rule to the crown prince.
May he judge your people rightly,
    be honorable to your meek and lowly.
Let the mountains give exuberant witness;
    shape the hills with the contours of right living.
Please stand up for the poor,
    help the children of the needy,
    come down hard on the cruel tyrants.
Outlast the sun, outlive the moon—
    age after age after age.
Be rainfall on cut grass,
    earth-refreshing rain showers.
Let righteousness burst into blossom
    and peace abound until the moon fades to nothing.
Rule from sea to sea,
    from the River to the Rim.
15-17 And live! Oh, let him live!
    Deck him out in Sheba gold.
Offer prayers unceasing to him,
    bless him from morning to night.
Fields of golden grain in the land,
    cresting the mountains in wild exuberance,
Cornucopias of praise, praises
    springing from the city like grass from the earth.
May he never be forgotten,
    his fame shine on like sunshine.
May all godless people enter his circle of blessing
    and bless the One who blessed them.
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