Today’s Gospel Text:
The
book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of
Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his
brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez
and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of
Ram, 4 and Ram the father of
Ammin'adab, and Ammin'adab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of
Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Bo'az
by Rahab, and Bo'az the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David
the king.
And David was the father of
Solomon by the wife of Uri'ah, 7 and Solomon the father of
Rehobo'am, and Rehobo'am the father of Abi'jah, and Abi'jah the father of Asa, 8 and Asa the father of
Jehosh'aphat, and Jehosh'aphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of
Uzzi'ah, 9 and Uzzi'ah the father of
Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezeki'ah, 10 and Hezeki'ah the father of
Manas'seh, and Manas'seh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josi'ah, 11 and Josi'ah the father of
Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to
Babylon: Jechoni'ah was the father of She-al'ti-el, and She-al'ti-el the father
of Zerub'babel, 13 and Zerub'babel the father of
Abi'ud, and Abi'ud the father of Eli'akim, and Eli'akim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok,
and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eli'ud, 15 and Eli'ud the father of
Elea'zar, and Elea'zar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph
the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from
Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation
to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the
Christ fourteen generations. Matt 1:1-17
Reflection: Everybody
has a past, even the saints have a past.
For
some our past could be embarrassing irrespective of our present.
There
are some things of our past which we would like to forget and if given an
opportunity or a another chance we would not want to repeat the same mistakes.
There
are other things which we are into or have gone through by no choice of ours
and we would want to forget about it as they too are unpleasant to even have a
re-look.
The
genealogy of Christ is a reminder to us that our past has meaning and is of
value no matter how bad it may be or how nice it may be. It is not like the proverbial forgive and forget.
The
past makes the person too and the past is what animates many of our behavior
patterns and actions and they cannot be easily discarded. Hence, it should be forgive and remember them in the light of God's new work in us.
What
is important and necessary is that when we allow Jesus to enter into our past, and we need to do that, then he assures us that he will make all things new.
And
indeed the old goes away; the non-essentials, and the essentials remain to
become a blessing to us.
How
do we do that? It is only in daily prayer when we ask Jesus to walk back and
ask him to touch those areas of rawness and to heal them, not forgetting to be
grateful to him for allowing these things in our life then the touch of Christ
makes the past work for our good. (cfr.
Rom. 8:28)
Prayer: Lord, I too have a past, help me to invite you in
all the past scars that I carry and seek your healing touch, so that this past
works for my advantage and to your greater glory.
DD = Dedicated
Discipleship: Come grow
in the Lord with us
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