17 December 2013
Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent
We have in the readings today a brief summary of God’s plan for his people throughout history. In the first reading we contemplate his plan for his chosen people of the Old Testament. After a solemn prologue in favor of Judah, we learn that from the family of Judah will come an all-powerful king who will set up a permanent kingdom, the Kingdom of God that the Father will “transfer” to his son, Christ the King.
The Gospel picks up the same theme of God’s plan making it more specific by tracing the ancestry of that king. He will come from a family, not all of whom were saintly. He will be truly born, will grow and will insert himself in the human family. Christmas is a family feast. By his incarnation Jesus involves us more deeply in family life. Never before in all history should we be more aware of the sanctity of the family.
We may carry the weight of our human family ancestry, but we are also rich in the faith lived by generations. We can say, as we wait with Mary and Joseph for Christmas day, “Come Lord and save what you have created from the clay of the earth so that we may become, according to your plan for the human race, your adopted sons and daughters, brothers and sisters of your family in Christ.”