HOMILY FOR SATURDAY OF THE 3RD WEEK OF ADVENT/Christ's perfect solidarity with humans

Homily for Saturday of the 3rd Week of Advent

Genesis 49:2, 8-10; Matthew 1:1-17.

Today begins the second part of Advent. In the First Reading, Jacob gathered his children before he died and foretold the destiny of his sons. Jacob presented Judah, his fourth son to his other brothers as their head  and leader. While the blessing of Jacob, rendered as a canticle has been touted as a literary composition in defense of the political preeminence of Judah among the twelve tribes, it does not diminish the significance of these words as a prayer of a father for a son. Judah eventually became a powerful tribe and it would not be out of place that Jacob's words and blessings made this possible.

From Jacob's blessings, the tribe of Judah had a mission to perform. It was to give the world the Messiah. Each one of us has a mission to perform as Christians, it is to give our brothers and sisters our Lord Jesus Christ.

From Jacob's blessings, fathers and mothers should learn to bless rather than curse their children and the children should learn to behave in ways that inspire blessings rather than curses from their parents. Great things happen to children when parents bless their children.

Jacob's blessings on Judah is what brought about the coming of the Messiah from the house of Judah, as today's Gospel exposes this fact to us. 

The genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ in today's Gospel reveals His human ancestry. The list of His ancestors shows they were mostly ordinary humans with their own limitations and weaknesses. Jesus was born of the lineage of David, but David himself had his weaknesses and limitations.

This shows that in Christ's perfect solidarity with humans, God in Christ Jesus chose to be among imperfect and sinful people and was born of an imperfect and sinful ancestry. Sinless as He was, He came to redeem a sinful world. He came as a man like us in all things except sin.

In this genealogy, we have fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen generations from David to Babylonian captivity and fourteen generations from deportation to Babylon to Christ. This is a clear indication that God is a Master Planner. He does not do things out of chance. He has a plan for every situation and for every individual person.

As we prepare for Christmas, may God grant us the grace that nothing in life will prevent us from obeying God's will for us through Christ our Lord. Amen

Have a blessed day