Jesus the Emmanuel

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 1:1-25.

Gospel Reading at Christmas Vigil Mass.

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.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins."
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means "God is with us."
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
He had no relations with her until she bore a son,
and he named him Jesus.

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Reflection

The long genealogy has a single purpose. It is to remind us that Jesus is the promised Christ born of David's line. He is King. He is a Jew. He is like us. He is King because he descended from a king. He is Jew because He inherited the traditions of a Jewish lineage. Above all, He is like us, because He embraced a human heritage.

It is important to stress that He is of kingly line because although as God, He is already King, He too is promised to inherit for us the promises made to David.  It is important to stress that He is a Jew, because He will perfect the covenant God made to humanity through Abraham, the father of faith. It is important to stress that He is like us, because it is in becoming man that God fully revealed Himself to us and made good His promise of being Emmanuel - God is with us.

Rejoice then because Jesus was born not only to family of Mary and Joseph, but for us all. To us is born the Savior, the fulfillment of all of God's promises. He is salvation. He is freedom from sin. And in Him is united God and humanity. Merry Christmas!

The Spirit of Advent

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 1:39-45.

Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled."

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Reflection

The first week reminded us of Christ's coming. The second, introduced to us His precursor in John the Baptist. The third week gave us a glimpse of the promise of the Spirit from Christ in John's preaching. This fourth week's Gospel reading presents to us the Spirit as the main mover behind the coming of Jesus.

It was the Spirit who moved Mary to visit her cousin Elizabeth, and the same Spirit who moved Elizabeth to sing praises for the mother of the Christ: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb." But above all, it was by the power of the Spirit that the Word was made flesh. The Spirit of Advent is the spirit of repentance, the spirit of expectation, but also the spirit of joy!

The waiting is about to be concluded. Many have been moved in preparing for the coming of the Savior. John leaped in the womb. Elizabeth sang her song. Mary was made the first apostle. In all these things we join the Church in singing her praises of blessings, as we too are filled with the Spirit of Advent, a Church pregnant with expectant joy!

Leveling of Expectations

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 3:10-18.

The crowds asked John the Baptist,
“What should we do?”
He said to them in reply,
“Whoever has two cloaks
should share with the person who has none.
And whoever has food should do likewise.”
Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him,
“Teacher, what should we do?”
He answered them,
“Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.”
Soldiers also asked him,
“And what is it that we should do?”
He told them,
“Do not practice extortion,
do not falsely accuse anyone,
and be satisfied with your wages.”

Now the people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
“I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor
and to gather the wheat into his barn,
but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
Exhorting them in many other ways,
he preached good news to the people.

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Reflection

John the Baptist should be the patron of those who call themselves "social media influencers" today. He knew how to make things viral. He built up a hype around the Christ. He knew how to get his message across and people were wanting for more.

But he was also exacting. He upheld the morality expected from every good Jew. And he was also humble. He denied that he is the Christ and admitted the lack of his ministry. For this he was faithful to his mission. His mission was to exhort everyone and to introduce them to the good news of salvation.

Advent is also about us listening to our John the Baptist's and becoming John the Baptist to others. Not everyone has the talent, the looks, or the resources to become a social media influencer today. But everyone baptized has not only been baptized with water but also the Spirit. It is the Spirit that sets us afire and makes us level our expectation of the Christ. Let us allow the Spirit of Advent to raise us up to the expectations of Christ and lead others to do the same.