My Saturday Daily Blessings, September 8, 2012

My Saturday Daily Blessings

 

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Catholic Observance)

 

First Reading: 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 37:3-4, 5-6, 27-28, 39-40 

"With delight I rejoice in the Lord."

 

*

Gospel Reading: Mt 1:1-16, 18-23

 

 

 

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

which means "God is with us."

**Reflections:

Do you rejoice in the promises of God and trust in his saving plan for your life? There is a long venerable tradition among many Christians of celebrating the birth of Mary, the mother of Jesus our Savior, on this day. Her birth prepared for our redemption in Jesus Christ. Matthew begins his gospel with the geneology of Jesus from Abraham's lineage through the line of David, King of Israel. Matthew concludes his geneology by indicating that both Mary, Jesus' mother and Joseph, his legal foster father, came from the line of David. Mary was asked to assume in faith a burden of tremendous responsibility. It had never been heard of before that a child could be born without a natural father. Mary was asked to accept this miraculous exception to the laws of nature. That required faith and trust. Second, Mary was not yet married. Pregnancy outside of wedlock was not tolerated in those days. Mary was only espoused to Joseph, and such an engagement had to last for a whole year. She was asked to assume a great risk. She could have been rejected by Joseph, by her family, by all her own people. Mary knew that Joseph and her family would not understand without revelation from God. She nonetheless believed and trusted in God's promises. Joseph, a just and God-fearing man, believed the message given to him to take Mary as his wife and to accept the child in her womb as the promised Messiah. Like Mary, Joseph is a model of faith for us. He is a faithful witness and servant of God's unfolding plan of redemption. Are you willing to trust and obey the Lord as Mary and Joseph did?

What is the significance of Matthew's genealogy? His genealogy is arranged in three sections portraying three great stages in the spiritual history of the people of the old covenant. The first stage begins with Abraham, the father of the chosen people, and ends with David, God's anointed King. The second stage takes us to the exile of God's people in Babylon. This is the period of Israel's shame and disaster due to her unfaithfulness. The third stage takes us to Jesus, God's anointed Messiah. 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. 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. 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?

**Prayer:

"Lord Jesus, you came to save us from the power of sin and death and give us abundant everlasting life in your kingdom. May I always rejoice in your saving work and trust in your plan for my life".

Amen.   Sources:

*Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 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.

**Don Schwager Author and Writer Sword of the Spirit and The Word Among Us