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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 1 year ago

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8th September >> Fr. Martin's Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23 for the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary: ‘She will give birth to a son’.

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Gospel (Except USA) Matthew 1:1-16,18-23 The ancestry and conception of Jesus Christ.

A genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham:

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Azariah, Azariah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah; and Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers. Then the deportation to Babylon took place.

After the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob; and Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel,

a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’

Gospel (USA) Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23 For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.

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. 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.”

Reflections (8)

(i) Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

We celebrate the birth of Mary because of the role she would play in God’s saving purpose for the world. In the words of the gospel reading, it was she who gave birth to Jesus, whom believers came to recognize as Emmanuel, God with us. It was through Marty that God became flesh in the person of her son, Jesus. Even while Jesus was in Mary’s womb, he was Emmanuel, God with us. Because Mary gave birth to Jesus, God with us, we recognize her as the Mother of God. It was through Mary’s son that God would work powerfully to draw all humanity to himself. That is why Mary’s birth was such a momentous event and why we celebrate it every year on this day. In the words of today’s second reading, Mary was chosen long ago for a unique role in God’s purpose for humanity. We venerate Mary not only as Mother of Jesus, Mother of God, but also as Mother of believers, Mother of the church. Jesus looked to Mary as his mother, but he wants us all to look to Mary as our mother. If we are to be children of Mary, we need to be like her Son. In the words of Saint Paul in today’s second reading, God intends us to become ‘images of his Son’. Mary’s calling in life was to become the mother of God’s Son. Our calling in life is to become images of God’s Son. Just as it was through the Holy Spirit that Mary became the mother of God’s Son, so it is through the Holy Spirit that we can become images of God’s Son. God sends the Spirit of his Son into our hearts so that we can each become an image of his Son. What does it mean to be an image of God’s Son? It means loving one another with the love of the Lord, and it is the Holy Spirit who empowers us to do that. When we ask Mary to pray for us sinners now, we are asking her to help us to become living images of her Son, of God’s Son.

And/Or

(ii) Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

We cannot be sure when Mary was born but today is the day that the church has traditionally celebrated the birthday of Mary. Generally, when we celebrate the feast of saints, their feast coincides with the date of their death. There are only three exceptions to this, when we celebrate the birth of someone who is recognized to be especially holy. We celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25, the birth of John the Baptist on June 24 and the birth of Mary on September 8. John the Baptist and Mary had a unique relationship with Jesus. Mary gave birth to Jesus and John the Baptist prepared people for his coming. We remember the birthdays of both Mary and John the Baptist because of the person they went on to become. We remember Mary’s birthday because she was the one through whom Jesus came to us. God chose this woman above all other women to be the one who would give birth to God’s Son and Mary accepted this unique role she had in God’s purpose on behalf of us all. Her ‘yes’ to God’s choice of her, God’s call, was also a saying ‘yes’ to all of us, to whom God’s Son was being sent. Her generous response to God’s call was an extraordinary grace for us all. Her Son who was given to us was none other than, in the words of today’s gospel reading, Emmanuel, God-with-us, sent to save God’s people from their sins. Because of her ‘yes’ to God’s call, God has drawn close to all of us in a loving and merciful way. It was through Mary that God gained a human face. Jesus was and is the human face of God’s love and mercy. Jesus not only reveals God to us but he also reveals ourselves to us. He shows us what it is to be fully human. In Jesus we see the person we are called to become if we are to be fully human. As Paul tells us in our reading today, God intends us to become true images of his Son, so that his Son might be the eldest of many brothers and sisters. Our calling is to grow up into the image of Mary’s Son and, in so far as we do that, we become fully ourselves. We celebrate Mary’s birthday because of all that we have received through her, all that God has given to us through her.

And/Or

(iii) Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

We remember the birthdays of those who are significant for us in life. We also remember the birthday of those who are significant for our faith life. The most significant person in terms of our faith life as Christians is, of course, Jesus, and we remember his birthday on Christmas day. Next to Jesus, Mary is the most significant person for the faith life of many Christians, and it is only fitting that the church remembers her birthday. It is impossible to know when exactly Mary was born, but September 8 has traditionally been the day when the church celebrates Mary’s birthday. When we wish someone a happy birthday we are, in a sense, giving thanks for that person’s birth and life. Today we give thanks for Mary’s birth and life. The gospel reading for today’s feast has to do with the birth of Jesus, rather than the birth of Mary, and that is only right and fitting. We celebrate Mary’s birth and life because of the birth of Jesus, because she became the mother of the Saviour. She is the one through whom we receive Emmanuel, God-with-us. Mary doesn’t offer us herself; she offers us her Son. She holds out her Son to us. She would have been happy to make her own the words of John the Baptist in relation to himself: ‘He, Jesus, must increase, but I must decrease’. The best way to honour Mary is to receive the Son of God whom she offers to us, to become, like herself, people who, in the words of Luke’s gospel, ‘hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance’.

And/Or

(iv) Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

There are very few people whose birthday we celebrate as feast days. I can only think of three, Jesus, of course, whose birth we celebrate on December 25, John the Baptist, whose birth we celebrate on June 24, and Mary, whose birth we celebrate today, September 8. What John the Baptist and Mary have in common is that they are both defined by their relationship to Jesus. Mary gave birth to Jesus; she gave Jesus to the world. John directed people, including his own disciples, to Jesus. If Mary brought Jesus to the world, John tried to bring the world to Jesus. We honour the birthdays of John the Baptist and Mary because of the unique roles they each had in the life of Jesus. John pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. According to this morning’s gospel reading, Mary’s child was called Jesus because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins. John and Mary in different ways point to Jesus as the revelation of God’s mercy. Matthew in this morning’s gospel reading gives another name to Mary’s child, Emmanuel, God-with-us. Mary’s child is above all God with us in his mercy. We celebrate Mary’s birthday because of the precious gift she gave to the world.

And/Or

(v) Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

We do not know when Mary was born but the church has chosen the 8th of September to celebrate the day of her birth. We celebrate the birth of Mary because of who she was to become, the mother of God’s Son. Her birth points ahead to that special child who was to be born from her. This morning’s gospel reading gives the child that was to be born of her two names, Jesus and Emmanuel. In the Semitic world, names were very important because each name carried a specific meaning. The name Jesus in Hebrew means ‘the Lord saves’. As the gospel reading says, ‘he is the one who is to save his people from their sins’. The name Emmanuel in Hebrew means, ‘God is with us’. These two names reveal a great deal about the child who was born of the woman whose birthday we celebrate today. God was present among us through Mary’s son as a merciful God, as a God who works to deliver us from our sins and to reconcile us to himself. Jesus is God with us in a merciful way. Saint Paul gives expression to one aspect of God’s mercy in today’s first reading. He declares that God co-operates with all those who love him by turning everything to their good. In other words, if we are open in love to the God present in Jesus, this God will turn everything to our good, all the experiences of our lives, including those we consider totally negative. Jesus reveals a God who works in a life-giving way in the midst of all our experiences. It is through Mary that we have come to know this God, which is why it is right and fitting for us to celebrate the day of her birth.

And/Or

(vi) Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The church has chosen this date, the 8th of September, to celebrate the day of Mary’s birth. We celebrate the birth of Mary because in the words of today’s gospel reading, she gave birth to a son who was named Jesus. The name ‘Jesus’ is very akin to the name ‘Joshua’. In the Hebrew language names often have a special meaning. Thus, the name ‘John’ means ‘the Lord is gracious’. The name ‘Jesus’ means ‘the Lord saves’. The gospel reading specifies that Mary’s son was the one who would save God’s people, Israel, and all of humanity, from their sins. The adult Jesus, on the night before he died, at the last supper, would take a cup of wine, give it to his disciples to drink, while saying, ‘this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’. Jesus was being true to his name at the last supper and, above all, on the cross, which the last supper anticipated in a symbolic way. We repeat those words of Jesus at every Eucharist, at the consecration of the Mass. Saint Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians that ‘every time we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death, until he comes’. At every Eucharist, just as at the last supper, the Lord’s total gift of himself for our sins is powerfully present. The Lord’s death was the demonstration of God’s love for us, a love that called out to all humanity, ‘Be reconciled to God’. Jesus revealed by his life and especially by his death God’s searching love for sinners. Mary’s birth looks ahead to the birth of her son, Jesus, who revealed God’s love to be stronger than human sin, if only we open ourselves to that love in our poverty. That is why we celebrate Mary’s birth as a birth of great significance, not just for her own parents and family, but for all humanity.

And/Or

(vii) Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is one of several feasts of Mary in the church’s liturgical calendar. We consider the birth of Mary a blessed day for all of us because as a young woman she would say ‘yes’ to God’s call to become the mother of God’s Son, Jesus. With the birth of Mary, the story of Jesus has already begun. The gospel reading this morning declares that Mary conceived her child, Jesus, through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was at work in Mary’s life not only at the moment of Jesus’ conception, but throughout her earthly life. She was a woman of the Spirit, even before the Holy Spirit came down upon her and Jesus’ first disciples at Pentecost. We are all called to be men and women of the Spirit, as Mary was. Our baptismal calling is to allow the Holy Spirit to shape our lives, all we do and say, just as the Holy Spirit shaped the life of Mary. According to Saint Paul in today’s second reading, God’s purpose for our lives is that we become ‘true images of his Son, so that his Son might be the eldest of many brothers and sisters’. Just as Mary brought Jesus into the world, we are called to bring Jesus into the world by becoming true images of Jesus, God’s Son. Just as Mary brought Jesus into the world through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can only become images of God’s Son, bringing him into our world, through the power of the same Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit to keep overshadowing us if we are to grow into the image of God’s Son, so that we can continue Mary’s work of bringing Jesus into our world today.

And/Or

(viii) Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

On the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we read one of the gospel accounts of the nativity or birth of Jesus. We remember the day of Mary’s birth because of the role she would go on to play in the life of Jesus. Jesus had many disciples in the course of his public ministry, but he only ever had one mother. Mary’s relationship with Jesus was truly unique. Yet, as well as being his mother, Mary was also his most faithful disciple. This aspect of her relationship to Jesus is one she shares with us all. Today’s gospel reading speaks of Mary as having conceived Jesus ‘by the Holy Spirit’. The gospels portray Mary as a woman of the Spirit, completely open to the Spirit’s promptings. Not only was her son conceived by the Spirit, but her whole life was shaped by the Spirit. As a woman of the Spirit, she was not only the mother of Jesus but, in the words of Paul in today’s second reading, she was a true image of God’s Son. Paul declares in that reading that God intends all of us to become true images of God’s Son. It is the Holy Spirit at work in our lives who will enable us to become true images of God’s Son. We look to Mary to show us the person that God intends us to become, people of the Spirit who reflect God’s Son to others by our whole way of life. In celebrating Mary’s birthday, we are also celebrating our own baptismal calling. We will not be fully conformed to the image of God’s Son in this earthly life, but each day of our lives we are called to grow into this image, in the power of the Spirit. As we do so, we can look to Mary as our inspiration and also as our help and support on this journey, calling on her to pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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myremnantarmy · 2 years ago

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𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐

Saturday of the Third Week of Advent

Gospel Mt 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.

#jesus #catholic #my remnant army #jesus christ #virgin mary #faithoverfear #saints #jesusisgod #endtimes #artwork #baby jesus #jesusiscoming #jesusitrustinyou #gospel #bible

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roman-catholic-mass-readings · 1 year ago

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8th September >> Mass Readings (USA)

Feast of The Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary

(Liturgical Colour: White: A (1))

Either:

First Reading Micah 5:1-4a The time when she who is to give birth has borne.

The LORD says:

You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. (Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, And the rest of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel.) He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD, his God; And they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Or:

First Reading Romans 8:28-30 For those he foreknew he also predestined.

Brothers and sisters: We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined he also called; and those he called he also justified; and those he justified he also glorified.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 13:6ab, 6c

R/ With delight I rejoice in the Lord.

Though I trusted in your mercy, let my heart rejoice in your salvation.

R/ With delight I rejoice in the Lord.

Let me sing of the LORD, “He has been good to me.”

R/ With delight I rejoice in the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise; from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God. Alleluia, alleluia.

Either:

Gospel Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23 For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.

The Book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means “God is with us.”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Or:

Gospel Matthew 1:18-23 For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.

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 be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means “God is with us.”

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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versebyverse · 24 days ago

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Yearly Bible Read Through

Gospels

Week 1 Day 1

Matthew 1:1-25 BSB

[1] This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham: [2] Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. [3] Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. [4] Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. [5] Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, [6] and Jesse the father of David the king. Next: David was the father of Solomon by Uriah’s wife, [7] Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. [8] Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. [9] Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. [10] Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, [11] and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. [12] After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, [13] Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. [14] Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. [15] Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, [16] and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. [17] In all, then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ. [18] This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. [19] Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly. [20] But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. [21] She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” [22] All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: [23] “Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”). [24] When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and embraced Mary as his wife. [25] But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the name Jesus.

#bible study #bible reading #sunday

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yhwhrulz · 5 months ago

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Worthy Brief - June 10, 2024

Your God shall be my God!

Ruth 1:16-17 But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me."

As we continue our study in Ruth, this Shavuot season, I want to suggest a prophetic mystery hidden in this book.

We have seen that names have significant meanings, and as discussed earlier, Elimelech, whose name means "My God is King", left Bethlehem with Naomi his wife and their two sons. The birth of these two boys must have brought joy and happiness, yet, having perished in Moab actually caused their very names to lose their original meanings. The firstborn, Mahlon, which meant "ornament", over the years came to mean "sickly". Their second son, Chilion, derived his name from the Hebrew root for "joy", but his name came to mean, "pining" and "whining". Naomi, whose name means "pleasant", changed her name to Mara, which means "bitterness", saying, "the Lord has dealt very bitterly with me."

Now Ruth, whose name means "friend", remained persistent, despite Naomi's exhorting her to separate and return to Moab. Instead, true to her name and character, Ruth invokes one of the strongest, most beautiful expressions of faith and faithfulness in all of scripture: "For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me." Thus Ruth forsakes her native land and joins herself irrevocably to the nation, people and God of Israel…a truly faithful friend, even to the point of death.

I would like to draw out from the story of Ruth, a possible contemporary meaning and application for us to ponder. I would suggest that Naomi and her two sons can be viewed as a type or picture of the people of Israel, and that Elimilech's decision to leave the Land of Promise with them became a picture of Israel in the diaspora. This present exile of the Jewish people since 70 AD culminating in the holocaust, has often rendered them both "sickly" and "pining" for home, and Naomi's experience outside the land of Israel brought death and desolation upon her.

The modern nation of Israel, birthed after centuries from the ashes of the Holocaust, and a long painful exile, has been suddenly restored to her ancient homeland, yet, in much bitterness, just as Naomi had returned to her homeland from Moab. Yet Ruth's love and faithfulness must have been a profound comfort to her mother-in-law. So, Ruth can be seen as a picture or type of Gentile (Christian) believers, whose faithful love, friendship and comfort bring deep solace to the people of Israel, who are still experiencing the bitterness of the exile and even now, the misunderstanding and opposition of the nations of the world. Many Israelis already know that their truest and most faithful friends in the world today are Bible believing Christians whose love for them is unconditional, and beautifully reflects the devotion of Ruth to Naomi.

Finally, it seems significant that Ruth's loving and faithful character became inspiration for drawing out the redemptive grace of Boaz toward Elimelech's widow, Naomi, so that her family line and inheritance were restored and preserved. As their Kinsman Redeemer, Boaz was deeply moved by the humility and faithfulness of Ruth to her mother-in-law, and as such, she can be seen as a type of intercessor between Boaz and Naomi. For if Boaz is pictured as a type of Yeshua (Jesus) our "Kinsman-Redeemer", then Ruth, lying down "at his feet" can be a picture of believers' humble prayers and intercession for the Jewish people entreating the Lamb of God for the mercy which restores us all to the inheritance which belongs to Him.

Pete, if in fact, Ruth can be seen as a "type" for Gentile believers, and Naomi, a picture of Israel, restored to her land, but still in bitterness, then Ruth can be an inspiration and a pattern for Christians who love Israel and who recognize her irrevocable calling as a nation. If the faithfulness of Ruth through love and intercession helped to restore Naomi to her true Kinsman-Redeemer, can it also be that the faithfulness and intercession of Gentile believers will be a powerful influence for the restoration of the Jewish people to their "Kinsman-Redeemer, the Messiah Yeshua Himself? Our friendship with Israel in word and in deed, and our prayers, in the midst of global opposition [Zechariah 14:2] will be a powerful testimony for Yeshua, and will help to remove the veil from Jewish eyes concerning His true identity. As we support the restoration of their Land (a Biblical promise), we also help to open the way for the far greater blessing of eternal life. Doing so, we also will be blessed according to these timeless words; "I will bless them that bless thee, and I will curse them that curse thee!"

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Baht Rivka, Obadiah and Elianna (Missouri) (Baltimore, Maryland)

Editor's Note: During this war, we have been live blogging throughout the day -- sometimes minute by minute on our Telegram channel. - https://t.me/worthywatch/ Be sure to check it out!

Editor's Note: We are planning our summer Tour so if you would like us to minister at your congregation, home fellowship, or Israel focused event, be sure to let us know ASAP. You can send an email to george [ @ ] worthyministries.com for more information.

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lorka-shadowcaster · 6 months ago

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I find it curious that the National Socialists were insulted by being called Nazi's. I suppose it's possible that was done because most of European Jewry are called Ashkenazi. So maybe it was a way to insult the Nazi's, basically calling them Jews. That doesn't however make altogether too much sense though, except that at the time most of the rest of the World, except the Muslims were very Anti-Semitic still. It wasn't honestly until the formation of Israel that the majority of the Muslim world turned on them. There were certainly many who already had, thanks to the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion and the heavy Jewish Involvement in Communism and everything that had happened in the Red Revolution.

Perhaps I've just taken the wrong pill but I still don't accept that there is a Jewish Conspiracy. A Zionist one maybe but even that is frankly to "obvious". It's certain that the Jews who were Exiled from the Roman Province of Palestine weren't the first to be Exiled from the land though. The Roman's waged a War against their Cousin's the Pheonecians of Carthage and before that the 10 Northern Tribes were Exiled by the Assyrians...

Christ told his disciples to go to the Lost Children of Israel first and then to the Gentiles... I think there is either a Brother's War going on. The Jews against Israel. Just like the wars between the Ten Northern Tribes and Judah/Benjamin

The KKK were known to have been originally formed by Mason's and the Nazi Party also had connections to a Breakaway Masonic Lodge. Then there is also the P2 Lodge and it's Fascist and Nazi connections and the Terrorism they engaged in during the Cold War...

The Masons also were fundamental in the creation of the United States and were speculated to have been a reformed Knights Templar, who it's suggested were Jews...

I suppose it is possible that there is a Jewish Conspiracy and that the Invisible Empire were the Templar's however I think the Jews are infact hostages just as much as the Christians and Muslims...

The Druids have strong connections to the Phoenecians who still actively practiced Human and Child Sacrifice, a Caanite Tradition that was also Practice by the Hebrews until it was Prohibited and replaced with the sacrifice of Animals, such as in the story of Abram and Isaac. The Knights Templar were never known to have practiced Human Sacrifice but across Europe the Witch Burnings could infact be construed as precisely that...

There is relatively sufficient evidence that the Phonecians had already made it to the New World prior to Columbus or the Vikings, or even the Irish if the tales of Madoc carry weight. Irish monks were said to have already occupied Iceland before the Vikings made it there. And the Irish monks are known in part to have been Druids who converted to Christianity before the Catholic Church made serious inroads and took over the Celtic Church...

I think there is sufficient evidence to suggest the Templar were digging under the Temple Mount but I don't think it was for treasure... their wealth expanded enormously due to patronage and them setting up the first International Banking System... I think what they found under the Temple Mount were Navigational Maps, which allowed them to flee, or perhaps "flee" to the New World to pave the way for the "Discovery" of the New World.

The Knights Templar weren't known to have practiced Human Sacrifice but their Persecution again, could be defined that way and France also once had their own Druids and connections to the Phoenecians...

Somehow this keeps connecting. It's like the Phoenecians and the Hebrews are the Jachin and Boaz Pillars of the Masonic Lodge, or the Two Towers of 9/11 which could also be likened to the Pillars of the Philistines Samson is said to have pulled down, collapsing the Temple on him and the Philistines, killing them all.

Palestine is supposed to have been the Greek name for Philistia and Gaza was one of the Cities of the Philistines...

There is definitely something going on here. A Grand Play, another Religious Dog and Pony Show like the Life, Death and Desurrection of Jesus... he was certainly not resurrected but had infact never died. He was given something to drink and in it was a substance to make him appear dead, so that he could be "resurrected" and fool his disciples into having the faith that he had died and risen and be willing to die for that belief.

I think the War between Rome and Carthage was staged. Who can stand against the Beast. Carthage built upon the Trading Connections that the Phoenecians had established to Create an Empire. I think Rome probably also had Phoenecian roots. Or it was allowed to Conquer Carthage so it could then build upon that and be taken over. Almost everywhere they Conquered is everywhere the Phoenecians had previously set up Trading Colonies. Including Britain. Without Rome, Christianity would never have been created or survived. Or Islam in all honesty.

I do believe there is a conspiracy but I don't think it's the Jews. Or just the Jews at the very least. This seems to actually predate even the Jews or Hebrews even.

This is about Ushering in a new Atlantis. The Habiru/Hebrews appear at the same time in Egyptian sources as the Sea People. But they also appear to have "copied" the Monotheistic Religion of Akhenaten, who's Older Brother was Thutmose. The mose of Thutmose is pronounced Mo-see, and Moses in Hebrew is pronounced like Mo-se. Connection? Probably.

Man, this is hurting my head, lol...

But... let's talk for a moment about Egypt and the Hyksos, who were said to have been invaders of Egypt who for a time ruled as Pharoah's in part of Egypt, before being expelled from the Levant. They were said to have worshipped only Set, who shares a remarkable similarity to the role of the Opposer Satan. The Opposer to Ra just as Satan is to El-Shadai. Josephus, an Ancient Jewish Scholar claimed these were the Hebrews. It should also be noted that the name Israel seems like a combination of Is-ra-el. Isis, Ra, El. Ra was the Sun God, just as Aten, of Akhenaten fame was. Though Aten was acknowledged to be the One and Only True God.

There are simply too many coincidences for all of this to be pure fantasy. So either the God and Satan of the Bible are real and are at work... or that is a metaphor for other powers that be who have been "fighting" for Thousands of Years, creating and then collapsing Empires stretching back to at least Egypt, which was Contemporaneous with Sumer, where it's recorded Abram lived, in the City of Ur. Most likely the very same Ur of the Chaldees.

However, there are similarities here to, say the war of the Ilead, between the Greeks and Trojans which appears to be a mythical version of events that were part of or possible sparked off the Invasion of the Sea people's and the Bronze Age Collapse. Or the Invasion of Alexander into Persia. Which was almost certainly some sort of staged event, some Titanic Struggle, the Greeks Overthrowing the Persians like the Zeus overthrowing the Titans. Or Odin fighting the Giants. Even though Odin was also a Giant, or descended of the Giant Emer.

There seems to be a very Ancient Tradition at play. Where events are orchestrated and then Mythologized. Although now, with Judaism, Christianity and Islam, that Mythology is part of the Orchestration, it all being a part of Prophesy.

It should also be noted that the Masons are said to have both come from Egypt and Israel, both. Or their Traditions at least.

It certainly seems to me like there is a truly Ancient Conspiracy, which still functions the same way as it did thousands of years ago. If not before.

According to Plato, his Ancestor Solon was shown Hyroglyphs in Egypt, by the Priests and told that they said that Egypt was a Colony of a City, on a Island which had its own Empire. Called Atlantis, which existed 9000 years before Solon or roughly 11,000 years ago the same time as the end of the Ice Age. It's also known that in the Egyptian book of the Dead, Egypt is said to be a Colony of an Island to the West which sank and is referred to as the Land of the Dead.

There are also remarkable connections to both the New and Old World dating back to the time of Egypt. Like the Cocaine and Nicotine found in Egyptian Mummies. Cocaine and Tobacco only being native to the New World. Or the Elongated Skulls of the Egyptian Priesthood and Akhenaten, and the Elongated Skulls of Peru.

I believe there was such a place as Atlantis, that was destroyed by the end of the Ice Age and that the Elites went on to seed Civilization around the World. By "educating" the Hunter Gatherers Agriculture through a Religion/Science of Star Alignments and Prophecy. Brainwashing of you will. Basically the Equivilent of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. And that all of this is a process of Colonization and Civilization. And that those Scientist/Priests were the Nephilim of the Bible. And God/Satan, or Enki and Enlil of Sumerian Mythology.

I think the Silurian Hypothesis is actually right. And there was a pre-human Civilization that were not Mammals, and were infact some sort of Dinosaur. Which actually terraformed earth to create a new Sentient Species, splicing their Gene's and Hominid Gene's to create Humans. In their likeness not in actual material form but in terms of a Sentient Creature.

I think that Genetically Altered Hybrid were the Nephilim of the Bible, and that we Humans are essentially the next step. A Genetically Altered Hominid, that the "Nephilim" if you will, these ones which came from Atlantis interbred with.

The reason I think the Silurian Hypothesis is correct is because of all the Dragon Imagery and Mythology around the World, including in the Bible. It would make sense if we modern human beings were created by the descendants of a species that was itself a hybrid species created by an entirely different species that were some form of Dinosaur, that they would keep the Serpent or Dragon in their Myths and Religions.

There is one thing that bothers me though and that's the story of Dagon. That appears to be an anomaly in a very consistent stream of myth. It shares the theme of a God teaching the locals Civilzation. He's generally depicted as half man half fish and to have come out of the sea. It's the fish part which is anomalous. In other instances it's a God that comes out of either the sea, or the sky, alternately bit is generally not given a physical description, or is describe as a God in Human Form, or a Dragon. In Mesoamerica he is Described as a God in Human Form, and a Feathered Serpent that came from the Sea in a Ship, along with other beings. Not alone.

So there are a remarkable amount of similarities across the globe but a few oddities among them. It should also be noted that in Mesoamerica, thay God was Prophocied to return, which initially the Spaniard Conquistidors were proclaimed to be the return of.

I think this is all some ritual "enlightenment". Silurian Hypothesis or not... it's either a story about being created, destroyed and then recivilized, or a ritual recreation of the birth of our, or their species. I'm split between Humans being created by them, or possibly them just being a different subspecies of Hominid, like the Neanderthal or Denisovan.

The reason I am tempted with the Silurian Hypothesis and them having created our species, is because while there is a lot of indirect evidence of this group, there is no direct evidence. So there's the story of Atlantis, which coincides in time with the end of the last Ice Age and the subsequent Global Flooding and the Egyptian Book of the Dead that says they are a Colony of a Sunken Island. And there's stories all across the Globe of someone or something coming to them and teaching them Agriculture, or atleast the way to live, laws to live by.

What there isn't though, is any actual evidence of an advanced Civilzation existing prior to the end of the Ice Age. Unless that is, that some or all of the Megalithic Construction around the Globe is not correctly dated, or attributed to the culture that actually built them. There are infact some Megalithic structures which defy conventional theories of their creation. Which show signs of or suggest the use of advanced tools and methods. Such as mechanical tools such as enormous circular saws and tube drills. None of which the cultures they are attributed to, as far as we are aware of, possessed.

So it is possible that some of the evidence of this lost Civilization still exist in plain sight and we're simply being told that they are much more recent constructions. It's also possible that some do exist under water. And are generally not even acknowledged to be of human construction but natural formations.

All that aside, there certainly is something there. Precisely what, I don't definitely know. But there is a genuine mystery and not just conspiracy theory, as it's all just written off as right now.

Something happened and is continuing to happen. Is this all just the Fallen Angels and Nephilim fucking with us and Fighting Against God and his Angels... I don't know. It certainly could be.

However, given the sheer amount of... odd things in the past which appear to be related in one form or another... I don't think so.

Hell, even the story of Enoch could be in some way related to the other stories of a God coming to a people and teaching them how to live, or giving them the gifts of Civilization, or Agriculture. Alternately, the Ten Commandments of Moses can also be considered to be a part of that human myth.

Although instead of an Angel coming to Enoch in some sort of Ariel ship, Rings within Rings, it was God Descending Upon the Mountain, either upon the clouds, or in fire and smoke.

However you would like to look at it, it is undeniable that something is going on, both in the past as regards all of these remarkably similar stories across the entirety of the globe, and still to this very day.

But it's either all just a Giant Conspiracy Theory... Or God/Satan at work. Depending on who you ask. Or who tells you what.

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dfroza · 10 months ago

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A Family Tree

leading to the True Vine of Israel

(and many have been “ingrafted” in)

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament (beginning again) is the 1st chapter of the book of Matthew:

This is the family history, the genealogy, of Jesus the Anointed, the coming King. You will see in this history that Jesus is descended from King David, and that He is also descended from Abraham.

Abraham was the father of Isaac; Isaac was the father of Jacob; Jacob was the father of Judah and of Judah’s 11 brothers; Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (and Perez and Zerah’s mother was Tamar);

Perez was the father of Hezron; Hezron was the father of Ram; Ram was the father of Amminadab; Amminadab was the father of Nahshon; Nahshon was the father of Salmon; Salmon was the father of Boaz (and Boaz’s mother was Rahab);

Boaz was the father of Obed (his mother was Ruth, a Moabite woman who converted to the Hebrew faith); Obed was the father of Jesse; and Jesse was the father of David, who was the king of the nation of Israel. David was the father of Solomon (his mother was Bathsheba, and she was married to a man named Uriah);

Solomon was the father of Rehoboam; Rehoboam was the father of Abijah; Abijah was the father of Asa; Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat; Jehoshaphat was the father of Joram; Joram was the father of Uzziah; Uzziah was the father of Jotham; Jotham was the father of Ahaz; Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah; Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh; Manasseh was the father of Amon; Amon was the father of Josiah; Josiah was the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, and Josiah’s family lived at the time when God’s chosen people of Israel were deported from the promised land to Babylon.

After the deportation to Babylon, Jeconiah had a son, Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel; Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud; Abiud was the father of Eliakim; Eliakim was the father of Azor; Azor was the father of Zadok; Zadok was the father of Achim; Achim was the father of Eliud; Eliud was the father of Eleazar; Eleazar was the father of Matthan; Matthan was the father of Jacob; Jacob was the father of Joseph, who married a woman named Mary. It was Mary who gave birth to Jesus, and it is Jesus who is the Savior, the Anointed One.

Abraham and David were linked with 14 generations, 14 generations link David to the Babylonian exile, and 14 more take us from the exile to the birth of the Anointed.

So here, finally, is the story of the birth of Jesus the Anointed (it is quite a remarkable story):

Mary was engaged to marry Joseph, son of David. They hadn’t married. And yet, some time well before their wedding date, Mary learned that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. Joseph, because he was kind and upstanding and honorable, wanted to spare Mary shame. He did not wish to cause her more embarrassment than necessary.

Now when Joseph had decided to act on his instincts, a messenger of the Lord came to him in a dream.

Messenger of the Lord: Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to wed Mary and bring her into your home and family as your wife. She did not sneak off and sleep with someone else—rather, she conceived the baby she now carries through the miraculous wonderworking of the Holy Spirit. She will have a son, and you will name Him Jesus, which means “the Lord saves,” because this Jesus is the person who will save all of His people from sin.

Joseph woke up from his dream and did exactly what the messenger had told him to do: he married Mary and brought her into his home as his wife (though he did not consummate their marriage until after her son was born). And when the baby was born, Joseph named Him Jesus, Savior.

Years and years ago, Isaiah, a prophet of Israel, foretold the story of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus:

A virgin will conceive and bear a Son,

and His name will be Immanuel

(which is a Hebrew name that means “God with us”).

The Book of Matthew, Chapter 1 (The Voice)

A set of notes from The Voice translation:

This is the story of Jesus the Son of David, the Anointed One, as told by Matthew, a disciple of the Lord. Now this account has been recorded for all those children of Abraham who have become followers of the true heir of the line of David so that they may know in whom they have believed. Because of the common Jewish heritage, Jesus of Nazareth can be understood—His miraculous healings, countless teachings filled with parables, righteous life, and lineage traced back to Abraham—as the One the prophets have spoken of since the early days.

This same Jesus is the One whom the Jews have been waiting for all these years. From the time when John was ritually cleansing people through baptism in the Jordan, as a sign of rethinking their lives of sin, to the wonderfully inspired teaching on the mountain in Galilee, throughout His parables, in His horrible death, and after His marvelous resurrection just days later, Jesus Himself is the King of the kingdom of heaven whom He taught about. There is no one like Jesus. The prophets of old looked for Him, David sang of Him, and Jewish leaders feared Him. He is the great King, the Teacher of wisdom, and the Prophet that Moses said was coming into the world.

The story begins with the lineage that establishes Jesus as the true Son of David.

This long genealogy is given for a good reason: to show how this Jesus fulfills the prophecies that tell us the Anointed One will be a descendant of Abraham and of David.

Some of the women in Jesus’ line are given to show how God is gracious to everyone, even to prostitutes and adulterers. Because some of the women listed weren’t Israelites, but were strangers and foreigners, they foreshadow all the foreigners God will adopt into His church through Jesus. Some of the children in God’s family are conceived under strange circumstances (like Tamar’s twins being conceived as she played the harlot, and like King Solomon being born to adulterous parents). Now that it has been established this is an unusual family, what happens next shouldn’t be a surprise—the conception of a baby under very strange circumstances.

This is remarkable, because Mary has never had sex. She and Joseph have not even spent very much time alone, but they are pledged to each other and their wedding feast has been planned.

She has never even kissed a man. She is a virgin, yet she is pregnant. Miraculous! On the other hand, Joseph suspects that Mary has cheated on him and had sex with another man. He knows he will have to break their engagement, but he decides to do this quietly. Mary understands that it is God, in the Person of the Holy Spirit, who has made her pregnant.

Today’s paired reading from the First Testament is the 12th chapter of the book of Hosea:

Eternal One: Ephraim feeds on the wind.

He chases the hot east wind all day long.

He’s becoming more and more deceitful and violent.

They’ve abandoned their covenant to make an alliance with Assyria,

trading oil for favor from Egypt.

The Eternal has charges to bring against Judah;

He’ll punish the nation of Jacob for the way he’s acting

and pay him back for the things he’s done.

Even from the womb, he fought with his brother by grabbing his heel;

when he grew to be an adult, he struggled against God.

He wrestled with a heavenly messenger and won;

he wept and begged for his help.

It was the Eternal, the Commander of heavenly armies, who met him at Bethel;

the Eternal Himself spoke with him there; the Eternal One is His memorial name.

So you must return to your God, maintain loyalty and justice,

and wait patiently for your God.

Like Canaan, Israel is a merchant who uses dishonest scales—

he loves to cheat people!

Ephraim gloats, “I’ve gotten rich! I’ve made a fortune for myself!

And in all my dealings no one can charge me with iniquity and dishonesty.”

Eternal One: I’m the Eternal One; I’ve been your True God ever since you left Egypt.

I’m going to make you live in tents again,

As you do in remembrance during the Feast of Tabernacles.

Eternal One: I’ve spoken to the prophets; I’ve given them many visions,

and I’ve told you parables through them.

Because Gilead is so wicked, it is worthless.

They sacrifice bulls at the cultic center of Gilgal,

But their altars will be heaps of stone next to a plowed field.

Jacob fled to the fields of Aram;

Israel worked for Laban in exchange for a wife;

to pay the bride-price, he shepherded Laban’s flocks.

But the Eternal One led Israel out of Egypt by a prophet;

Moses, God’s own prophet, kept the people safe.

But now Ephraim has made his Lord furious, and this is His judgment:

God will punish him for the blood he’s shed

and pay him back for his defiance.

The Book of Hosea, Chapter 12 (The Voice)

A note from The Voice translation:

Every year, the Israelites live in tents for one week as part of the Feast of Tabernacles. This festival reminds the people of God’s constant protection of their ancestors as they wandered for a generation in the Sinai desert. However, the Israelites won’t enjoy their coming time in tents. Living in tents will mean they’ve lost all the wealth and security they built up in their solid houses and cities; they’ll be nomads wandering the earth, but this time without God’s constant protection. In a reversal of the Exodus story, these wanderings will be a prelude to bondage in a foreign nation, where they will be slaves without the ear of God, as their ancestors were in Egypt.

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for Sunday, january 7 of 2024 with a paired chapter from each Testament (the First & the New) of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons about the hope by which we are saved:

When Moses proclaimed the good news of God’s forthcoming redemption for Israel, the Torah states that the people could not listen because they were “short of breath” (Exod. 6:9). Interestingly, this phrase (i.e., mi’kotzer ru’ach: מִקּצֶר רוּחַ) can also mean “lacking in spirit,” as if in a paralyzed state of hopelessness. But how did the people become so downhearted? Had they forgotten the promise given to Abraham (Gen. 15:12-14)? Had they disregarded Joseph’s final words (Gen. 50:24-25)?

According to some of the sages, part of the reason for their “shortness of breath” (besides the cruel bondage and hard labor imposed on them) was that the Israelites miscalculated the duration of their 400 year exile, and therefore they began to lose hope. When members of the tribe of Ephraim tried to escape from Egypt some 30 years before the time of the redemption, they were all killed by the Philistines, and many of the Israelites began to believe that they would remain as perpetual slaves (Shemot Rabbah, 20:11). They became “short of breath” and could no longer receive the message of the Holy Spirit...

Indeed, life in this evil world can be suffocating at times. And though we may not be under the oppression of a cruel Pharaoh, we are affected by the "princes of this age" who spurn the message of the Messiah's redemption and love, and we are still subjected to bondage imposed by taskmasters who defy the LORD and who seek to enslave us by means of lies, propaganda, and threats of violence... The devil is still at work in the hearts and minds of many of his "little Pharaohs" that govern the world system... The Scriptures make it clear that we are engaged in genuine spiritual warfare: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12).

It is evident that one of the central purposes of God's redemption is to bestow freedom and dignity upon his people. As the story of Pharaoh reveals, God does not take kindly to oppressors, dictators, and other megalomaniacal world leaders who deny the truth and who therefore seek to enslave (or kill) human beings created in His image and likeness. Just as God judged Egypt for its oppression and violence, so He will one day break the "rulers of this world" with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel (Psalm 2:9-10).

To help us “catch our breath” during this time of waiting, it is important to remember that the LORD redeems us so that we may become His children and therefore be clothed with everlasting dignity... Our redemption makes us heirs of the Kingdom of God and citizens of heaven. We must never regard ourselves as slaves - not to the State, not to the bankers, not to fear, and not to religion (Gal. 5:1). God gave up His Son for us so that we could be made free to live with honor as his dearly loved children.... All the threats of the world system - economic, political, religious, social, etc. - are ultimately made empty and vain by the glorious redemption promised to us in Yeshua our Savior.

There is an old story of the Maggid of Brisk who each year would bring proof from the Torah that the Messiah would come that year. Once a certain Torah student asked him, “Rabbi, every year you bring proof from the Torah that the Messiah must come that year, and yet he does not come. Why bother doing this every year, if you see that Heaven ignores you?” The Maggid replied, “The law states that if a son sees his father doing something improper, he is not permitted to humiliate him but must say to him, ‘Father, the Torah states thus and so.’ Therefore we must tell God, who is our Father, that by keeping us in long exile, he is, in a sense, causing injustice to us, and we must point out, “thus and so it is written in the Torah,” in hope that this year he might redeem us.” This same principle, of course, applies to those of us who are living in exile and who eagerly await the second coming of the Messiah Yeshua. We should continue asking God to send Him speedily, and in our day, chaverim...

The Scriptures declare that "we are saved by hope" (ελπιδι εσωθημεν), that is, we are saved through an earnest expectation of good to come on account of the promises of the LORD God of Israel. Amen. The LORD is called "The God of Hope" (אֱלהֵי הַתִּקְוָה), indicating that He is its Author and its End (Rom. 15:13). God both gives birth to our hope (tikvah) and is the satisfaction of our heart's deepest longings. For those with God-given hope, gam zu l'tovah – all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28). In light of God’s promises, hope is the one "work" that we are called to vigorously perform: "What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" Yeshua answered, "This is the work of God, that you trust (i.e. hope) in the one whom He sent" (John 6:28-29).

Don’t let the world system destroy or impugn your hope, chaverim... If the devil can’t seduce you with illusory hope or counterfeit joy, he will attempt to oppress you with fear and doubt. Fight the good fight of faith and refuse to succumb to despair. Run the race before you with endurance (Heb. 12:1). Look up, for the time of your deliverance draws near... God redeems us for the sake of His love and honor... It is the “breath of God” that gives us life and courage to face this dark and perverse world (John 20:22). May you be filled with the hope and strength that comes from the Holy Spirit. Amen.

[ Hebrew for Christians ]

========

Psalm 25:1-2a reading:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/psalm25-1-2a-jjp.mp3

Hebrew page:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/psalm25-1-2a-lesson.pdf

1.5.24 • Facebook

from yesterday’s email by Israel 365:

When God called on Moses to go to Egypt and liberate the Children of Israel, Moses worried that they wouldn’t believe it was God who had sent him. To help convince them, God provided Moses with three miraculous signs (Exodus 4:1-9).

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

January 7, 2024

Withering Man

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.” (Isaiah 40:7)

This passage compares people to fleeting flowers. Both have a finite earthly existence. Each generation of flowers, for example, shrivels and falls from the plant, its glory fading and then vanishing. Likewise, each generation of man—indeed, each individual person—shrivels and fades in a single lifetime. The psalmist said it this way: “My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass” (Psalm 102:11).

Science confirms this. Biologists track a relentless accumulation of mutations, or DNA differences, during a person’s lifetime. These contribute to the typical symptoms of aging and many cancers. But biologists have also tracked mutations that accumulate across generations. They show that mankind as a whole will also wither.

Perhaps Peter had this in mind when he wrote, “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away” (1 Peter 1:24). We each and all need a Savior!

The process of aging reminds us of life’s brevity. What will happen afterward? The gospel is the only message that offers a real cure for the terminal illness toward which our individual aging and collective withering point. To those who trust Christ, it promises everlasting life in bodies that never fade.

So, how should you “prepare to meet [your] God” (Amos 4:12)? “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). BDT

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catolinewsdailyreadings · 1 year ago

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Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Readings of Friday, September 8, 2023

Reading 1

MI 5:1-4A

The LORD says: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; Whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. (Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, And the rest of his brethren shall return to the children of Israel.) He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD, his God; And they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 13:6AB, 6C

R./ With delight I rejoice in the Lord.

Though I trusted in your mercy, let my heart rejoice in your salvation. R./ With delight I rejoice in the Lord.

Let me sing of the LORD, "He has been good to me." R./ With delight I rejoice in the Lord.

Gospel

MT 1,1-16.18-23

The Book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

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.

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 be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means “God is with us.”

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limitedbible · 1 year ago

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Matthew 1:1-25

translated from Ancient Greek by Kristin Mikles

1. The book of the origin of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham. 2. Abraham fathered Isaac, then Isaac fathered Jacob, then Jacob fathered Judah and his brother, 3 And Joudah fathered Perez and Zerah out of Tamar, And Perez fathered Hezron, and Hezron fathered Ram, 4 and Ram fathered Amminadab, and Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon, 5 and Salmon fathered Boaz out of Rahab, and Boaz fathered Obed out of Ruth, and Obed fathered Jesse, 6 and Jesse fathered David the King.

And David fathered Solomon out of Uriah, 7 And Solomon fathered Rehoboam, and Rehoboam fathered Abijah, and Abijah fathered Asa, 8 and Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, and Joram fathered Uzziah 9 and Uzziah fathered Jotham, and Jotham fathered Ahaz, and Ahaz fathered Hezekiah 10 and Hezekiah fathered Manasseh and Manasseh fathered Amos, and Amos fathered Josiah 11 and Josiah fathered Jeconiah and his siblings during the Babylonian exile.

12 After the Babylonian exile, Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel, and Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel fathered Abiud, and Abiud fathered Eliakim, and Eliakim fathered Azor, 14 and Azor fathered Sadok, and Sadok fathered Achim, and Achim fathered Eliud, 15 and Eliud fathered Eleazar, and Eleazar fathered Matthan, and Matthan fathered Jacob, 16 and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary out of whom Jesus, the one called Christ, was born.

17 So all the the generations from Abraham until the generation of David numbered fourteen, and all from David until the generation of the Babylonian Exile numbered fourteen and from the Babylonian Exile to the generation of Christ was fourteen.

The Birth of Jesus Christ

18 Then the birth of Jesus Christ was this. The mother of him having been married to Joseph, however before they came together she was found pregnant from the Holy Spirit. 19. And Joseph, her husband, being righteous and not wishing her to be disgraced, he wanted to divorce her secretly. 20 Then having thought about these things, look, an angel of the lord in a dream appeared to him saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the thing having been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will birth a son and you will call him the name Jesus; Because he will save his people from their sins. 22. And all this has happened so that what has been spoken by through the prophet may be fulfilled saying,

23 Look, the virgin has in her womb and will birth a son and they will call him the name Emmanuel, which translated is With our God." 24 So Joseph rising from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and accepted his wife. 25 And he did not understand her until she had birthed a son and he called him the name Jesus.

#Matthew #Matthew Book 1 #Matthew 1:1-1:25

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dailychapel · 2 years ago

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Matthew 1:1–25 NLT - 1 This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham: 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar). Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram. 4 Ram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon. 5 Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse. 6 Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah). 7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam was the father of Abijah. Abijah was the father of Asa. 8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram. Jehoram was the father of Uzziah. 9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham. Jotham was the father of Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh. Manasseh was the father of Amon. Amon was the father of Josiah. 11 Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin and his brothers (born at the time of the exile to Babylon). 12 After the Babylonian exile: Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim. Eliakim was the father of Azor. 14 Azor was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Akim. Akim was the father of Eliud. 15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob. 16 Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah. 17 All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah. 18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. 20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet: 23 "Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means 'God is with us.'" 24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Lord God, We, too, ask where you are, When there is trouble and suffering and death, And we cry out to you for help.

Be near to us, and save us So that we may praise you for your deliverance.

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cissypc · 2 years ago

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Mt 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.

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tpanan · 2 years ago

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My Saturday Daily Blessings

December 17, 2022

Be still quiet your heart and mind, the LORD is here, loving you talking to you...........

Saturday of the Third Week in Advent (Roman Rite Calendar) Lectionary 193, Cycle A

First Reading: 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.”

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 72:1-2,3-4ab,7-8,17

"Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever."

Verse before the Gospel:

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: 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.

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.

**Meditation:

Do you know who your ancestors were, where they came from, and what they passed on from their generation to the next? Genealogies are very important. They give us our roots and help us to understand our heritage. Matthew's genealogy of Jesus traces his lineage from Abraham, the father of God's chosen people, through the line of David, King of Israel. Jesus the Messiah is the direct descent of Abraham and David, and the rightful heir to David's throne. God in his mercy fulfilled his promises to Abraham and to David that he would send a Savior and a King to rule over the house of Israel and to deliver them from their enemies.

The Lord Jesus is the fulfillment of all God's promises When Jacob blessed his sons he foretold that Judah would receive the promise of royalty which we see fulfilled in David (Genesis 49:10). We can also see in this blessing a foreshadowing of God's fulfillment in raising up his anointed King, Jesus the Messiah. Jesus is the fulfillment of all God's promises. He is the hope not only for the people of the Old Covenant but for all nations as well. He is the Savior of the world who redeems us from slavery to sin and Satan and makes us citizens of the kingdom of God. In him we receive adoption into a royal priesthood and holy nation as sons and daughters of the living God (see 1 Peter 1:9). Do you recognize your spiritual genealogy and do you accept God as your Father and Jesus as the sovereign King and Lord of your life?

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 wise rule and care.

Sources:

Lectionary for Mass for use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, copyright (c) 2001, 1998, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain (c) 1968, 1981, 1997, international committee on english in the liturgy, Inc All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner

**Meditations may be freely reprinted and translated into other languages for non-profit use only. Please cite copyright and original source. Copyright 2021 Daily Scripture Readings and Meditation, dailyscripture.net author Don Schwager.

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frmartinshomiliesandreflections · 2 years ago

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17th December >> Fr. Martin’s Gospel Reflections / Homilies on Matthew 1:1-17 for the 17th December: ‘A genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.‘

17th December

Gospel (Except USA)

Matthew 1:1-17

The ancestry of Jesus Christ, the son of David.

A 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, Tamar being their mother, Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon was the father of Boaz, Rahab being his mother, Boaz was the father of Obed, Ruth being his mother, Obed was the father of Jesse; and Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Azariah, Azariah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah; and Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers. Then the deportation to Babylon took place. After the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob; and Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.

The sum of generations is therefore: fourteen from Abraham to David; fourteen from David to the Babylonian deportation; and fourteen from the Babylonian deportation to Christ.

Gospel (USA)

Matthew 1:1-17

The genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David.

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Reflections (10)

(i) 17th December

The gospel we have read heard are the opening seventeen verses of the gospel of Matthew, the genealogy of Jesus. You might wonder why the church includes this gospel reading among the gospel readings for Advent. After all, it is simply a list of names. Yet, for the evangelist Matthew, this version of Jesus’ genealogy was saying something important about Jesus. It was, firstly, highlighting his humanity. Jesus had ancestors, a family tree, as we all have. He didn’t come to earth as from another planet. Matthew was also telling us that Jesus was Jewish, rooted in a long standing Jewish tradition. As the opening of the genealogy declares, he was son of David and son of Abraham. He would go on to say later in Matthew’s gospel that he hadn’t come to abolish the Jewish law but to bring it to fulfilment. Matthew’s genealogy also hints at something else about Jesus. At the end of the genealogy, we read, ‘Matthan, the father of Jacob, and Jacob was the father of Joseph’. We would expect, in line with the remainder of the genealogy, ‘and Jacob was the father of Jesus’. Instead, the genealogy concludes, ‘Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ’. Matthew is hinting at the mysterious nature of Jesus’ birth. Whereas Mary was the mother of Jesus, the real father of Jesus was God, not Joseph. Matthew will soon tell us that Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. More could be said about the genealogy. Many of those mentioned were anything but paragons of virtue; they were very flawed people. Jesus did not descend from saints. Yet, God somehow worked through them to give his son to humanity. There can be flaws in our own family story, and, indeed, in our own personal story. Perhaps Matthew is reminding us that God can turn even the flaws in our own personal story to our ultimate good, if we open ourselves up to his working in our lives. As Saint Paul says in his letter to the Romans, ‘all things work together for good for those who love God’.

And/Or

(ii) 17th December

The gospel reading we have just read is probably one of the strangest gospel readings of the church’s liturgical year. We might ask, ‘Why bother with that long list of names?’ It was clearly important for the evangelist Matthew to communicate some sense of Jesus’ family tree. There seems to be an increasing interest in family trees in recent times. More and more people want to know ‘Where have I come from?’ and ‘Who are the people who have helped to make me the person I am?’ Each of us is very aware that the story of our ancestors is an important part of our story. It is the part of our story that is below ground, like the roots of a tree. And where would a tree be without its roots? In a similar way, Matthew knew that the story of Jesus’ ancestors was a very important chapter in his own story. In Jesus’ genealogical tree that Matthew gives us there are a number of people who were anything but paragons of virtue. Many of them had what we would call today a dark side. Yet, Matthew is declaring that God worked through all of these people, including those whose character left a lot to be desired, to give the world its Saviour. Matthew’s genealogy reminds us that, in the words of Saint Paul, God’s power can be made perfect in weakness. Even when we are not at our best, God’s purpose for our lives and for the lives of others continues to work itself out.

And/Or

(iii) 17th December

The gospel reading we have just read is probably one of the strangest gospel readings of the church’s liturgical year. We might ask, ‘Why bother with that long list of names?’ It was clearly important for the evangelist Matthew to communicate some sense of Jesus’ family tree. There seems to be an increasing interest in family trees in recent times. More and more people want to know ‘Where have I come from?’ and ‘Who are the people who have helped to make me the person I am?’ Each of us is very aware that the story of my ancestors is an important part of my story. It is the part of my story that is below ground, like the roots of a tree. And where would a tree be without its roots? In a similar way, Matthew knew that the story of Jesus’ ancestors was a very important chapter in his own story. The genealogy, the family tree, of Jesus that Matthew presents in this morning’s gospel reading stresses in the very first line that Jesus was a descendant of Abraham and a descendant of David. As son of David, he is the promised Messianic King of the Jews; as son of Abraham he fulfils the God’s promise to Abraham that in his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Jesus, the long awaited Messianic king of the Jews has come, not just for the sake of Israel, but for the sake of all the nations, and that includes all of us. Jesus may be a Jew, but he is the light of the nations.

And/Or

(iv) 17th December

This morning we begin the octave of Christmas. The readings for these eight days are very specially chosen. The first reading invariably consists of one of the great Messianic promises in the Jewish Scriptures. The gospel acclamation on each of these eight days is also very significant. Each one is a beautiful prayer, a variation on the simple, ‘Come Lord Jesus’. You may have noticed the gospel acclamation for this morning’s Mass, ‘Wisdom of the Most High; ordering all things with strength and gentleness, come and teach us the way of truth’. The gospel readings for these eight days, apart from tomorrow Sunday, are all taken from the first chapter of the gospel of Matthew and the gospel of Luke. This morning’s gospel reading consists of the opening seventeen verses of the gospel of Matthew. It is an unusual gospel reading; it is tempting to ask ‘what is the point of that long list of names’. What was Matthew doing by beginning his gospel in this particular way? He wanted to show that Jesus was rooted in the Jewish people; his family tree included Abraham and Isaac, David and Solomon, and many others. Jesus was hewn from the rock of Abraham, like the remainder of the people of Israel. We are being reminded that the deepest roots of our own Christian faith are to be found in the story of the people of Israel. That list of names is anything but a list of saints; there are plenty of people whose lives left a lot to be desired; we only have to think of David. Yet, Matthew is saying that in some mysterious way, God worked through all of those characters to bring Jesus to humanity. Matthew is reminding us there that God can bring great good out of human sin and brokenness. That realization is not an encouragement to sin but it gives us hope that even when we fall short of our calling the Lord’s saving purpose continues to work itself out.

And/Or

(v) 17th December

Matthew’s gospel opens with the genealogy of Jesus. You may wonder why it is given to us as a gospel reading at the beginning of this novena of days before Christmas. After all, it is only a long list of mostly unpronounceable names. We are being reminded that the child whose birth we are soon to celebrate did not just drop out of the sky. He was fully human and like all humans, all of us, he had an ancestry, he had a family tree. He had roots and he was shaped by those roots. When you look at that list of names, they are a very mixed bag. Many of them are far from being paragons of virtue. Yet, each of them played a part in the making of Jesus. Each of them ultimately served God’s good purpose. There will be good and bad in our own family tree just as there will be good and bad in our own personal lives. Yet, God can work in a life-giving way even through the darker and what we would think of as the more negative experiences of our lives. Every experience can serve God’s purpose if we remain to God’s presence to us. He is constantly at work in our lives bringing new life out of death and great good out of failure.

And/Or

(vi) 17th December

Today we begin the octave of Christmas. The gospel readings from the 17th December up to and including Christmas Eve are all taken from the first chapter of the gospel of Matthew and of the gospel of Luke. This morning’s gospel gives us the opening seventeen verses of Matthew’s gospel, the genealogy of Jesus. You might be tempted to ask, ‘Why do we read these verses at all in our liturgy?’ What are we to make of this long list of unpronounceable names? At the very beginning of his gospel Matthew is telling us that Jesus is a Jew, a descendant of Abraham and of David. His roots and our roots as his followers are to be found in Judaism. Matthew was aware that many of those listed in the genealogy of Jesus were anything but paragons of virtue. Yet they had a role to play in the coming of Emmanuel, God with us, to all men and women, Jew and pagan. Matthew may be reminding us that God can work powerfully in and through flawed human beings. Our own personal frailties and weaknesses do not prevent God from working through us. Even though we may be far from perfect, we can still have a role to play in bringing Jesus, Emmanuel, to all those who continue to long for his coming.

And/Or

(vii) 17th December

Today, the first day of the Octave of Christmas, we traditionally read Matthew’s account of the genealogy of Jesus. At one level it seems like a rather dry list of names. Yet, this is how Matthew has chosen to begin his gospel and this list of names clearly had great significance for him. It tells us that Jesus had an ancestry; he did not just drop out of the sky, as it were. This ancestry was solidly Jewish. As the first line of the gospel reading states, Jesus was ‘son of David, son of Abraham’. Matthew is reminding us that Jesus, and the church that emerged from him, have their roots in the story of God’s dealings with the people of Israel in the Jewish Scriptures. In this solidly male list of names, four women are mentioned, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and the wife of Uriah. They are all non-Jewish in origin. Matthew is suggesting that Jesus’ heritage line brought in Gentiles as well. Jesus’ initial concern during his public ministry was for the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but he as risen Lord he sent his disciples to go out and make disciples of all the nations. The church, like Jesus, has deep Jewish roots, but is open to the world. Many of the named people in Jesus’ genealogy, both the men and the women, were anything but paragons of virtue. Matthew suggests that there were plenty of skeletons in Jesus’ cupboard. Yet, God worked through them all to bring us Jesus. The same can be true of our own ancestral story. Even out own personal story will not always be one of pure virtue. Perhaps one of the messages of this gospel reading is that the Lord can turn all of our experiences to a good purpose, both the sinful and the virtuous ones, both the darkness and the light. As Paul says in his letter to the Romans, ‘all things work together for good for those who love God’.

And/Or

(viii) 17th December

Today, 17th December, we begin the octave of Christmas. The readings these days are special to each day. The Alleluia verse for these days is a special verse relating to the coming of the Saviour. They are lovely prayers in their own right, and would make a perfect prayer programme for these eight days. The Alleluia verse or antiphon for today is, ‘Wisdom of the Most High, ordering all things with strength and gentleness, come and teach us the way of truth’. The gospel readings for these eight days are all taken from the opening chapters of the gospel of Matthew and Luke, the story of the birth and infancy of Jesus. Today’s gospel reading is probably the strangest of all. Why do we read this long list of names on 17th of December? It is the genealogy of Jesus according to Matthew. This evangelist gives his version of the generations that led up to the birth of Jesus. In this way, he reminds us that this special child who has the unique name ‘God-with-us’, has a human ancestry. Like every human being, he has a family tree, a Jewish family tree. Jesus, the Son of God, is also the son of Abraham. Some of his Jewish ancestors mentioned in this list left a lot to be desired. Yet, God worked through them all to bring Jesus, God’s Son, to the human race in the fullness of time. The evangelist may be reminding us that God can always bring good out of what falls short of his desire for us. That is true of our own personal lives, as well. Even the darker experiences of our lives can serve God’s purpose for us, if we keep entrusting ourselves to God in love through it all. As Saint Paul says in his letter to the Romans, ‘all things work together for good, for those who love God’.

And/Or

(ix) 17th December

It has been said that the genealogy of Jesus appearing in today’s gospel reading is a preacher’s nightmare. What is to be said about this list of Hebrew names? There is a great interest in genealogy today. There is a television programme given over to the search for one’s ancestors entitled, ‘Who do you think you are?’ That question gives us a clue to what Matthew was doing in giving his version of the genealogy of Jesus. He was inviting us to ask the question, ‘Who do you think Jesus is?’ Matthew is not so much interested in past history as in the present identity of Jesus. The two key names in that list are found together at the very beginning of the list, almost as an introduction to it, Abraham and David. When Matthew tells us that Jesus is the son of Abraham he is stating that Jesus is a Jew and that his story is woven into the larger story of the Jewish people. When Matthew says that Jesus is the son of David he is establishing his credentials as the long awaited Jewish Messiah. We are being reminded that our own Christian faith emerged from the Jewish faith. As Jesus had Jewish roots, so our spiritual and religious roots are to be found in the Jewish faith, which is why the Jewish Scriptures remain important for us as followers of Jesus. Another feature of the genealogy is that four woman are to be found in the otherwise relentlessly male list, and all four woman are non-Jewish in origin, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba. Jesus may be son of Abraham and son of David, but Matthew wants to see that Jesus’ ancestry already shows an ancestry to the non-Jewish, Gentile, world. The Saviour may be from the Jews but he is intended for all nations, as is clear from the final words of Jesus to his disciples in this gospel of Matthew, ‘Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…’ It is because Jesus’s disciples were faithful to that mission that we are here this morning. As Israel was to be a light to the nations, Jesus, the Jew, was a light to the nations. As his disciples we continue his light bearing mission to all we encounter. This role is at the core of our identity and needs to be part of how we would answer the question, ‘Who do you think you are?’

And/Or

(x) 17th December

Today we begin the Octave of Christmas. The readings, especially the gospel readings, relate much more to the birth and childhood of Jesus. The alleluia verses are a series of beautiful Advent prayers, each of which is worth making our own this Advent season. The genealogy of Jesus with its list of strange names may strike us as an unusual gospel reading. Why include it in the lectionary at all? Yet, it reminds us very forcibly of the humanity of Jesus. Yes, we believe that Jesus was the Son of God, but he was also a son of Abraham and a son of David. He belonged to the people of Abraham’s God, the people of Israel. Through Joseph, his father, he was a descendant of King David. Jesus was deeply rooted in the Jewish world and tradition. His family tree was a Jewish family tree. His Scriptures were the Jewish Scriptures. When God became human, he did so among a particular people, in a particular place, at a particular time in history. Yet, God sent his Son into the world for all peoples, for every place and for all future time. Jesus, now risen Lord, is to be found among us, in this place, in this time. When God sent his Son into the world it was for everyone, in every time and place. The child Jesus was born not just to Mary and Joseph of Nazareth two thousand years ago, but to each one of us today. That is why we celebrate the birth of this child as good news for us, for me personally. Christmas is the time when we give thanks to God for the greatest gift he could have given us, the gift of his very self, the gift of his Son, who is light from light. Having given such a wonderful gift, God will never take it back. Because of the birth of Jesus to Mary and Joseph, we have all been eternally graced and we are called to live out of that grace.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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