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DECEMBER 17, 2005 SATURDAY 3RD WEEK OF ADVENT – YEAR I GENESIS 49:2, 8-10 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." 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 There are not many people who can work up any sort of interest in genealogies. So-and-so begat so-and-so, and so-and-so begat so-and- so. Even when you put it into modern English it's no less repetitious and boring. Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram was the father of Amminadab, and so on. Reading the family record of Jesus as it's presented to us by Matthew is rather boring . . . unless you have a scripture scholar to point out items of interest. For instance the scholars tell us that Matthew's genealogy indicates clearly that Jesus was fully Jewish. Jesus' earliest roots are set by Matthew in Abraham, who lived thousands of years before Jesus. Just hearing the names of his ancestors one after another is sort of like visiting all the main moments in Israel's political and spiritual history. The genealogy also shows that Jesus was fully human. His forebears, in addition to men of nobility, also included many who were flawed morally and spiritually. David, the king whom God loved, and against whom all Jewish kings would be measured, in addition to being a great warrior, was an adulterer and a murderer. Solomon, David's son, was an idolater. Many kings of Judah were weaklings who feared the might of pagan kings more than they loved or respected God. Many were absolute tyrants. The women mentioned in the genealogy had their own notoriety. Tamar, a Canaanite widow, seduced Judah, her father-in-law, to obtain her rights in the community. Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho who protected Joshua's spies and enabled the Israelite army to break into the Promised Land. We speak of families that have skeletons in their closets. Jesus' family had quite a few skeletons there. Jesus was descended from men and women scarred by human faults, wounded by moral and spiritual defects. Jesus is Emmanuel, God-with-us. But he is deeply, fully human, even though he is as deeply, fully God. PRAYER "Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Messiah and Savior of the world, the hope of Israel and the hope of the nations. Be the ruler of my heart and the king of my home. May there be nothing in my life that is not under your kingship." PRAYER REQUESTS We pray - - for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the unborn. - for the continued & speedy recovery of Mike Torres. - for the eternal repose of the soul of Dr. Alice Sy Tan. Eternal rest grant unto her and may perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. - for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary. - Birthday: Christopher Sun - Birthday: Henry L. Uy - Wedding Anniversary: Ernie & Puny Dy - In Memoriam: Cesar L. Lopez - for world peace and reconciliation. Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most. Have a good day! *************************************************************** Welcome to DAILY-HOMILY, a Catholic-based Scripture and Homily Reflection. It is a great source for scripture reading and reflectionfor Weekdays, Sundays and Holydays of Obligation. Subscribe to this list and you will receive a free, informed, down to earth and illustrated homily. 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