December 17, 2025
Wednesday of the Third Week
of Advent
Lectionary: 193
Reading
1
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
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.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
O Wisdom of our God Most High,
guiding creation with power and love;
come to teach us the path of knowledge!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121725.cfm
Commentary on
Genesis 49:2,8-10
In today’s First Reading, Jacob is on his death bed and
making his last statement to his family. It is the longest poem in Genesis. The
reading is part of what is known as the ‘Blessings of Jacob’, although they are
more like prophecies than blessings. This is especially true of the passages in
today’s reading. And it is directed, not so much to the sons of Jacob, but more
to the tribes who bore their name.
Although this passage ostensibly refers to Jacob’s immediate
descendants, in fact, the final writing dates from the time of David (much
later), with possibly some earlier elements contained in it. Its contents
really concern the time of the Judges and the Kings. It was at this later time
that it would have been inserted into the Genesis narrative. Put together from
preexisting songs and sayings, it looks at the tribes of Israel in their early
days in Canaan. It is put here to signify the closing of a historical
period—that covered by the Book of Genesis.
Two of the tribes stand out—those of Judah and Joseph. Judah
is seen as coming to dominate all the others, but not permanently:
The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until tribute comes to him,
and the obedience of the peoples is his.
Another reading of “until tribute comes to him” in the
original Hebrew text translates as “until he comes to whom it belongs”. This is
a reference to the Messiah. Judah will be the one through whom the promises
made to Abraham and Jacob will be fulfilled. Judah was the fourth born to
Jacob’s wife Leah, and also the fourth son born to Jacob, but his three older brothers,
for various reasons, lost their right to family leadership.
Judah is shown as preeminent over his brothers:
…your brothers shall praise you…your father’s sons [i.e.
his brothers] shall bow down before you.
From the time of the second journey of Jacob’s sons to
Joseph in Egypt, Judah acted as their spokesman. Judah, under the name of
Ephraim, did in fact become the most influential of the northern tribes and
would form the nucleus of the future kingdom of Israel. And through his
descendant David, he would be an ancestor of Jesus—hence the purpose of today’s
reading.
Judah is called a “lion’s whelp” (or “lion’s cub”) as a
symbol of power, strength and courage. In later times, he is often pictured as
a lion and, in Revelation (5:5), Jesus himself is called the “the Lion of the
tribe of Judah”.
The meaning of the closing prophecy is obscure, but it is
often read in a Messianic sense—fulfilled first of all in David, and ultimately
in Christ, the Messiah. It is to Jesus Christ that the “sceptre”, the ruling
power, ultimately belongs.
Both the First Reading and today’s Gospel, which contains
Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, emphasise Jesus’ roots going back to the very
beginnings of Israel. Jesus was a Jew through and through, and linked with many
of the most significant characters in Israel’s turbulent history.
As we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Child Jesus in
Bethlehem, we need to remember that the content of today’s readings is an
important aspect of the Incarnation. Jesus did not just appear as an isolated
human being. He came from God, but he is also intimately and crucially linked
with the history of his own people. And because of that, so are we.
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Commentary on
Matthew 1:1-17
Perhaps this passage is regarded as one of the dullest
Gospel readings of the year! It consists of a long list of names, many of which
mean very little to most Christians. But it has one resounding message: Jesus
fully entered our human condition, with all its virtues and vices.
One of the main purposes of Matthew’s Gospel, which was
written for Jewish Christians by Jewish Christians, is to show the continuity
of Jesus in the history and tradition of Israel. Jesus was no upstart; still
less was he a rebel or a traitor. On the contrary, he was the natural
development of the long process of God’s relationship with his people. Not only
was he the natural development, he was the long-awaited climax. He was no less
than the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed King of Israel.
Today’s passage from Matthew is the opening of his Gospel.
It is introduced with the words:
An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son
of David, the son of Abraham.
These two names are the most significant in the family line.
Jesus, as the Messiah—the Christ—will be a King in the line of David. And he is
descended from Abraham to whom God had said:
…and by your offspring shall all the nations of the earth
gain blessing for themselves… (Gen 22:18)
The genealogy is divided into three significant parts, each
with fourteen generations. This is probably because the numerical value of the
Hebrew letters in David’s name amounts to 14. The third and last list actually
only contains 13 names. Perhaps Matthew meant Jesus’ name to be part of the
list. After all, the genealogy of Jesus continues beyond him to his followers.
Or perhaps a scribe somewhere along the line got his numbers mixed up; there is
no way to know.
The first part is from Abraham down to David; the second,
from David to the deportation to Babylon; and the third, from the deportation
to Joseph and Mary. Of course, it is not a complete genealogy. The names
mentioned all appear one way or another in the Hebrew Testament. There are four
women mentioned—Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Mary—each one of them an interesting
character in her own right. There are also a number of scoundrels in the list.
Even David, one of the most outstanding servants of God, was an adulterer and a
murderer (apart from those he killed in war).
When the Son of God became a human being, he really did
become one of us. The Gospel makes no effort to ‘sanitise’ his origins, or the
members of his immediate family. There is no shortage of skeletons in Jesus’
cupboard. John said no less than the truth when he wrote:
…the Word became flesh and lived among us… (John
1:14)
As well, if Jesus was totally incarnated in the world so
that he could communicate the message of God’s love to the world and for the
world, then we too, must be totally incarnated. We are not true to our calling
if we think that, in order to be true to Jesus, we have to separate ourselves
from a material and sinful world. We cannot be the “salt of the earth” unless
we are fully inserted into it. But this happens only when we also fully
identify with the values and concerns of the Kingdom. Otherwise we are salt
without taste.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/a1217g/
Wednesday,
December 17, 2025
3rd Week of
Advent
Opening Prayer
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Your Son, came among us as one
of us, a human being among other people, simple, accessible, yet Your human
face and the measure of what a human person is. Lord, make us discover
ourselves in His mirror:
that we are born to be free, to be unselfish,
available, committed. Free us from our selfishness, our cowardice and attitudes
of conformism, that we may become what You want us to be, like Your Son, Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Gospel Reading – Matthew 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.
Reflection
The genealogy defines the identity
of Jesus. He is the “Son of David and the son of Abraham” (Mt 1: 1; cf 1: 17).
Son of David, is the response to the expectation of the Jews (2 Sam 7: 12-16).
Son of Abraham, is a source of blessings for all nations (Gn 12: 13). Both Jews
and Pagans see their hope realized in Jesus.
•
In the patriarchal society of the Jews, the
genealogies indicated only names of men. It is surprising that Matthew
indicates also the names of five women among the ancestors of Jesus: Tamar, Rahab,
Ruth, Bathsheba (the wife of Uriah) and Mary. Why does Matthew choose precisely
these four women as companions of Mary? No queen, no matriarch, none of the
fighting women of the Exodus: Why? This is the question which the Gospel of
Matthew leaves for us to answer.
•
In the life of the four women, companions of
Mary, there is something abnormal. The four of them are foreigners, they
conceived their sons outside the normal canons and do not respond to the
requirements of the Laws of purity of the time of Jesus. Tamar, a Canaanite
widow, disguised herself as a prostitute to oblige the Patriarch Judah to be
faithful to the law, to do his duty and give her a son (Gen 28: 1-30). Rahab, a
Canaanite from Jericho, was a prostitute who helped the Israelites enter into
the Promised Land (Josh 2:121). Ruth, a poor Moabite widow, chose to remain
with Naomi and to adhere to the People of God (Ruth 1:16-18). She took the
initiative to imitate Tamar and to go and spend the night beside the pile of
barley, together with Boaz, obliging him to observe the Law and to give her a
son. From the relation between the two, Obed was born, the ancestor of King
David (Ruth 3: 1-15; 4: 13-17). Bathsheba, a Hittite, the wife of Uriah, was
seduced, violated and she conceived and became pregnant from King David, who in
addition to this ordered that the husband of the woman be killed (2 Sam 11:
1-27). The way of acting of these four women did not correspond to the
traditional norms. In
the meantime, these were the
initiatives, which were not really conventional, which gave continuity to the
lineage of Jesus and led all the people to the salvation of God. All this makes
us think and challenges us when we attribute too much value to the rigidity of
norms.
•
The calculation of 3 X 14 generations (Mt 1: 17)
has symbolic significance. Three is the number of the divinity. Fourteen is the
double of seven. Seven is the perfect number. By means of this symbolism
Matthew expresses the conviction of the first Christians according to which
Jesus appears in the time established by God. With his coming history reaches
its plenitude, its fullness.
Personal Questions
•
What is the message to be discovered in the
genealogy of Jesus? Have you found a response to what Matthew leaves for us ?
•
The companions of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, are
very different from how we imagined them. What is the conclusion you can draw
regarding your devotion to the Blessed Virgin?
Concluding Prayer
May His name be blessed forever and endure in the sight of the
sun.
In Him shall be blessed every race in the world, and all
nations call Him blessed. (Ps 72: 17)
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