Gospel: Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23
This is the account of the 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 (their mother was Tamar), Perez was the father of Hezron,
and Hezron of Aram. Aram was the father of Aminadab, Aminadab of Nahshon, Nah shon of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz.
His mother was Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed. His mother was Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David, the king.
David was the father of Solomon. His mother had been Uriah’s wife. Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Then came the kings: Abijah,
Asaph, Jehoshaphat, Joram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah.
Josiah was the father of Jechoni-ah and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon. After the deportation to Babylon,
Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel and Salathiel of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud of Eliakim, and Eliakim of Azor.
Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, and Akim the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar of Matthan,
and Matthan of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus who is called the Christ—the Messiah.
This is how Jesus Christ was born: Mary his mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together,
she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy.
He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to disgrace her. While he was pondering over this,
an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.
She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a son. You shall call him ‘Jesus’ for he will save his people from their sins.”
All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and bear a son,
and he will be called Emmanuel, which means: God-with us.
REFLECTION:
The Gospel traces the roots of Jesus back to Abraham. This connects Him to the bloodline of God’s chosen people.
But, Jesus is not really connected to the line of Abraham by blood. Joseph, by way of adoption,
made Him legitimate—rightly belonging to the bloodline. In a deeper sense, however, it is not Jesus who is legitimated by this ancestral trace.
Rather, it is the entire line of Abraham that is re-claimed by Jesus back to God the Father.
The Blessed Virgin Mary is actually the key link to this legitimation.
The Birth of our Blessed Mother initiates the reclamation of the entire humanity not just to the line of Abraham or Adam,
but to the line of God the Father. Jesus, through Mary, widens the ancestral line making all of us children of God.
The birth of Mary is actually the birth or re-birth of all people.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2020
