FIRST READING
The LORD said to Abram:
"Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk
and from your father's house to a land that I will show you.
"I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who curse you.
All the communities of the earth
shall find blessing in you."
Abram went as the LORD directed him, and Lot went with him.
Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
Abram took his wife, Sarai, his brother's son Lot,
all the possessions that they had accumulated,
and the persons they had acquired in Haran,
and they set out for the land of Canaan.
When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land
as far as the sacred place at Shechem,
by the terebinth of Moreh.
(The Canaanites were then in the land.)
The LORD appeared to Abram and said,
"To your descendants I will give this land."
So Abram built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him.
From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel,
pitching his tent with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east.
He built an altar there to the LORD and invoked the LORD by name.
Then Abram journeyed on by stages to the Negeb.
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Commentary on Gn 12:1-7
In this passage from Genesis we find the beginnings for God’s interaction with Abram. In the previous chapter Abram’s father had come east out of modern day Iraq (Ur of the Chaldeans). Now God calls Abraham and commands him with his nomadic family unit to go into Palestine. Along the way Abram sets up altars for sacrifice in thanksgiving and prays to God for direction.
God greatly blesses the one he has called, pledging his constant support. In return he asks him to leave behind all that he has known. “Jewish and Christian tradition sees the three things God requires Abram to give up as epitomizing the demands of faith: 'Through these three departures—from country, kindred and father's house,' according to Alcuin's interpretation, 'is meant that we have to leave behind the earthly man, the ties of our vices, and the world under the devil's power' ("lnterrogationes in Genesim", 154).” [3]
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B. The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father, David.
When King David was settled in his palace,
“‘It was I who took you from the pasture
When King David was settled in his palace,
and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side,
he said to Nathan the prophet,
“Here I am living in a house of cedar,
while the ark of God dwells in a tent!”
Nathan answered the king,
“Go, do whatever you have in mind,
for the LORD is with you.”
But that night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
“Go, tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD:
Should you build me a house to dwell in?
“‘It was I who took you from the pasture
and from the care of the flock
to be commander of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went,
and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.
And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.
I will fix a place for my people Israel;
I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
without further disturbance.
Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,
since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.
I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The LORD also reveals to you
that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his Kingdom firm.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
Your house and your Kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.’”
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Commentary on 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16
Within the historical books of the Old Testament (1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Maccabees), this passage is considered to have the most theological significance. Nathan’s oracle, the establishment of the dynasty of King David, marks the beginning of the understanding of royal messianism, our first hint of the Messiah to come.
In this passage, Nathan is told to tell David that, while he would not build the temple, his son (Solomon) would and that his (David’s) line would continue; “Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.”
"The Davidic covenant is the latest and greatest of the Old Testament covenants. Following the steady buildup of covenants between God and his people over the centuries, beginning with Adam and continuing with Noah, Abraham, and Moses, the divine covenant with David brings the biblical story to a theological highpoint. Each of these ancient covenants helps to prepare the way for messianic times, but Jewish and Christian traditions agree that hopes for a coming Messiah are anchored most explicitly in the Lord's covenant with David."[1]
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
From the rising to the setting of the sun
Who is like the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
A song of praise and thanksgiving, Psalm 113, in this selection, focuses appropriately on servants of the Lord and how these leaders are lifted up from “the lowly”.
CCC: Ps 113:1-2 2143
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
Abraham became the father of Isaac,
David became the father of Solomon,
After the Babylonian exile,
Thus the total number of generations
St. Matthew, speaking to a predominantly Jewish audience who call themselves “Sons of Abraham,” produces the genealogy of Jesus starting with Abraham. The critical purpose is to show that Jesus was of the line of King David. This was an important demonstration that Jesus was the Messiah as predicted in the prophetic scriptures of the Old Testament (the “Prophets” as they were known and referenced by the Jewish audience).
“Matthew calls his whole book the bibloz genesewx of Jesus Christ, the book of the ‘genesis’ of his ancestors, of his birth, of his coming among us in its manner, which reveals the promise he holds for us. How fitting that the first sentence of the canonical New Testament, the story of man’s re-creation through the grace of Christ, should contain the word ‘genesis’, which hearkens back to the first creation of the world out of nothingness.” [2]
In the final verse of this reading we see the significance of Hebrew Numerology as the numbers of generations are counted. Recalling the most perfect number in this symbolic system is seven (7), we see the product of two sevens in the generations from Abraham and David, two more between King David and the Babylonian Exile, and two more from the Exile to the Messiah. Three (the formula for the most, e.g. holy, holy, holy equivalent to holy, holier, holiest) times the product of two sevens, this is six (6) sevens, one short of the perfection to be achieved when Christ will come again.
CCC: Mt 1:16 437
[1] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, The First and Second Books of Samuel, © 2016, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p. 80
[2] Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume I, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 1996 p. 57
[3] The Navarre Bible: “Pentateuch,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 86.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever.
R. (2) Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever.
From the rising to the setting of the sun
is the name of the LORD to be praised.
High above all nations is the LORD;
above the heavens is his glory.
R. (2) Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever.
Who is like the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high
and looks upon the heavens and the earth below?
R. (2) Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever.
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill he lifts up the poor
To seat them with princes,
with the princes of his own people.
R. (2) Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever.
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Commentary on Ps 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
A song of praise and thanksgiving, Psalm 113, in this selection, focuses appropriately on servants of the Lord and how these leaders are lifted up from “the lowly”.
CCC: Ps 113:1-2 2143
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GOSPEL
A genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.
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.
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Commentary on Mt 1:1-17
St. Matthew, speaking to a predominantly Jewish audience who call themselves “Sons of Abraham,” produces the genealogy of Jesus starting with Abraham. The critical purpose is to show that Jesus was of the line of King David. This was an important demonstration that Jesus was the Messiah as predicted in the prophetic scriptures of the Old Testament (the “Prophets” as they were known and referenced by the Jewish audience).
“Matthew calls his whole book the bibloz genesewx of Jesus Christ, the book of the ‘genesis’ of his ancestors, of his birth, of his coming among us in its manner, which reveals the promise he holds for us. How fitting that the first sentence of the canonical New Testament, the story of man’s re-creation through the grace of Christ, should contain the word ‘genesis’, which hearkens back to the first creation of the world out of nothingness.” [2]
In the final verse of this reading we see the significance of Hebrew Numerology as the numbers of generations are counted. Recalling the most perfect number in this symbolic system is seven (7), we see the product of two sevens in the generations from Abraham and David, two more between King David and the Babylonian Exile, and two more from the Exile to the Messiah. Three (the formula for the most, e.g. holy, holy, holy equivalent to holy, holier, holiest) times the product of two sevens, this is six (6) sevens, one short of the perfection to be achieved when Christ will come again.
CCC: Mt 1:16 437
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Reflection:
It should not be remarkable to us that the Blessed Virgin
Mary should also hold the title “Chosen Daughter of Israel.” The Gospel of St.
Matthew begins with the Lord’s “genesis” just as the Old Testament begins with
the creation of all that is, so the New Testament begins with the re-creation
through Jesus who brings salvation to the world.
From the beginning, God’s plan was to bring happiness to his children. His unfathomable love was demonstrated with the gift of his Only Begotten Son through the virgin’s womb. It was, therefore, necessary that the Lord fulfill the prophets from his very incarnation. That this could be true, from the Second Book of Samuel we hear: “I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his Kingdom firm.” (2 Samuel 7:12) As we know from the genealogy of the Blessed Mother, she (as well as St. Joseph) is of the line of the house of King David, a daughter of Abraham and purest daughter of Israel.
If the Savior were to fulfill all that the prophets foretold, it was necessary for her to be the virginal vessel that would bring forth the Messiah long predicted as we also hear in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
God’s plan, predicted by the prophets, is fulfilled in Christ through the Chosen Daughter of Israel. She brings us the gift of her son, God’s Son at great price to herself, but a price paid willingly, even joyfully (My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior!) And in doing so becomes the Mother of the Church. As we look forward to the joyous event of the Lord’s Nativity and remember that he promised to come again in glory, let us ask the Chosen Daughter of Israel, St. Mary, to pray for us. That we might rejoice as she did at his coming and be ready to join him when he comes again.
Pax
From the beginning, God’s plan was to bring happiness to his children. His unfathomable love was demonstrated with the gift of his Only Begotten Son through the virgin’s womb. It was, therefore, necessary that the Lord fulfill the prophets from his very incarnation. That this could be true, from the Second Book of Samuel we hear: “I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his Kingdom firm.” (2 Samuel 7:12) As we know from the genealogy of the Blessed Mother, she (as well as St. Joseph) is of the line of the house of King David, a daughter of Abraham and purest daughter of Israel.
If the Savior were to fulfill all that the prophets foretold, it was necessary for her to be the virginal vessel that would bring forth the Messiah long predicted as we also hear in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)
God’s plan, predicted by the prophets, is fulfilled in Christ through the Chosen Daughter of Israel. She brings us the gift of her son, God’s Son at great price to herself, but a price paid willingly, even joyfully (My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior!) And in doing so becomes the Mother of the Church. As we look forward to the joyous event of the Lord’s Nativity and remember that he promised to come again in glory, let us ask the Chosen Daughter of Israel, St. Mary, to pray for us. That we might rejoice as she did at his coming and be ready to join him when he comes again.
Pax
[2] Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume I, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 1996 p. 57
[3] The Navarre Bible: “Pentateuch,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 86.
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