Reflection on Today's Readings, Friday of 3rd Week of Advent, Year C, December 17th, 2021
Texts: Genesis 49:2.8-10; Ps. 72: 1-4ab.7-8.17; Matthew 1:1-17
Today's first reading is part of Israel's speech while he was on deathbed. He called his children to bless them and to tell them about the future. The first reading contains his words for his son, Judah. In those words, he projected the coming of Christ through the lineage of Judah. He says, "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” These words reveal that the sceptre in the lineage of Judah looks towards the coming of Christ; the sceptre rightly belongs to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the source of authority both before His birth and after His birth. All authorities come to fullness in Him; authorities in the past, present and future are fulfilled in Him. Any authority that does not look to Jesus is a tyranny. For authority to be meaningful and purposeful it must have Jesus as the focus and goal.
We see in the praise of Judah, the likeness of the King we await. We await a king who will win our admiration, praise and worship, for He shall rescue us from our foes. It is said, "Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you." He is coming to deliver us from the power of evil ones and sins. He will end up giving His life in this battle for love of us and gained it back at resurrection.
It is also said that Judah is a lion's whelp that grows to become a lion. This still tells us the one we await is the fulness of what Judah is. This means Christ is the lion whom Judah, as whelp, grows to become. This tells us that the history of God's people moves towards Christ. Jesus Christ is the fullness of human history; the past, the present and the future find their meaning, fulness, in Him. Jesus Christ is the focus and goal of human history. When we fail to grow towards Jesus Christ, we miss the purpose and goal of our existence. When we fail to grow towards Jesus Christ, we miss the meaning of existence. Advent teaches us to grow towards Jesus Christ, to have Jesus Christ as the focus and goal of our existence; Jesus Christ is to be the centre of everyone's life.
Today's gospel reading reveals Jesus Christ as the fulness and centre of human history. It tells us the participation of both the people of God and Gentiles in the history of Jesus Christ. It is clear in the gospel as the women mentioned, except Virgin Mary, are of Gentile origin. The mentioning of their names shows that the history of Jesus is the history of human race; it is the history of both Jews and the Gentiles, the two human races; it is my history, it is also your history. We all move towards Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the vital force of human history. When we fail to allow Jesus Christ to be the driving force of our lives, we are lost. To fulfil the divine purpose for us, we need to allow Jesus Christ to be the driving force of lives.
Lord Jesus Christ, I surrender my life to You, please, be the driving force of my life; help me to grow towards You always; help me to find meaning and purpose in life. Amen.
Fr. Andrew Olowomuke
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