Day 2:
December 17
Reflection on Mt. 1:1‑17
by Carraro Davide,
PIME
I.
Introduction:
a)
Attention technique (use a visual aid).
Visual aid: Identification Card. (I.D.).
b) Relevance: Explain the visual aid.
>The I.D.: The Gospel presents the whole genealogy of Jesus son of David. If the homilist shows his own I.D. it can be a good way to relate those names with us, meaning to say that we are rooted in that genealogy.
c) Lead in the body of the homily.
From the starting introduction, I will lead people to reflect upon the importance of been part of a Christian Family.
II. The body
of the homily: the two main points of the sermon.
1. The genealogy according to Matthew as a bridge
between Old Testament and New Testament.
a) Scriptural support:
The genealogy of Jesus according to Matthew is located on the very beginning of the Gospel of Matthew, which is the first book of the New Testament. It can be considered as a bridge between the Old and New Testament. The last book of the Old Testament, the book of Malachi, ends with a messianic promise.
“For /o, the day is coming, blazing like an over, when
all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming
will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the LORD of
hosts. (Mal 3:19)
“.... Lo, / will send you Elijah, the prophet, before
the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day" (Mal
This messianic promise finds fulfillment in the genealogy of Jesus, by the evangelist Matthew. It is rooted in the historical moment from which it is issued and looks to the future, until its fulfillment. The genealogy follows the opposite way: from the present it goes back to the origin.
The messianic promise and genealogy are united together in the first 17 verses of Matthew; this becomes an important key in order to understand the harmony and unity of the whole Bible.
b) Illustration:
As illustration, the homilist may share to the congregation an event of His life in which somebody played the role of mediator, between him and a situation. In doing so it will be easy for the assembly to relate that Word of God to their own Life.
c)
Transition:
Did you experience, or do you have the desire to experience the mediation of Jesus Christ in your life, as the one who brings you close to God?
2.
The genealogy as an introduction to the whole "book" of Matthew.
a)
Scriptural support:
The
genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, placed at the beginning of the Gospel of
Matthew summarizes the whole story of salvation that starts with Abraham and
finds his fulfillment in Jesus, it underlines Jesus as belonging to the story
of Israel people as he is described, "son of Abraham, son of
David".
The genealogy of Jesus the Messiah doesn't show only a good connection between the Old Testament and New Testament, but also it reveals the link in the genealogy itself and the birth of Jesus the Messiah.
The verses Mt 1: 1 and Mt 1‑. 18 are tightly connected, since in both verses the word "genesis" appears; through with two different meanings: "origin" in verse 1 and "birth" verse 18. In other words the genealogy prepares the account of the birth of Jesus, showing a very tight sequence.
b)
Illustration:
The genealogy of Jesus brings us back to our origins, to our birth. As illustration the homilist can direct the attention of the assembly to the Crib been prepared in the Church.
c)
Transition:
The reality of birth, bring us to take into consideration the role of Christian family. Are you happy to be part of a Christian family? What should change or improve in your family in order to make it a true genuine Christian family?
III. Conclusion:
a)
Creative summary.
The Word of God of today brings us to reflect upon our origins as Christians. As believer of Christ we know that our roots are based in Jesus Christ the Son of God.
The birth of Jesus took place within a family. Let us treasure the values of our Christian families, let us be courageous enough to communicate to the world the beauty of our identity.
This genealogy seems to be incomplete, in a sense that our and God' names are omitted. Yet, in and through the person of Jesus, we find each other connected. In other words the genealogy finds his fulfillment with Jesus the Messiah and at the same time it starts a new genealogy between Him and us.
b)
Application.
This Gospel leads us to treasure our Christian origins, and to live out them in our present within a Christian family.
Let us
try to build Christian families, and to take as example of it, the sacred
family of
c)
M.C.T. Memorable Closing Technique.
The homilist may propose to the assembly to show to each other their own identity card I.D. And to say to each other that our identity is rooted on Christ.
The points that I should achieve in
delivering the homily.
1. Topic: "Let us celebrate our Christian origins".
2. Specific topic: "The Christian family is the manifestation of our divine origins".
3. Determine the specific topic: "The congregation must realize, feel, that the Christian family should be at the center of their life.
4. Determine the method of approach: Personal experience.
5. Theme statement: "in Jesus Christ, we find the origin and the meaning of our Life".
Reflection 3
by Reginaldo
V. Lavilla MSP
Introduction
A. Attention
Technique:
A pair of cocoon and butterfly (picture or actual) or a paw' rose bud and a fully blossomed rose. Show to the people either of the two pairs and explain that the beauty we see in the butterfly comes from a cocoon or of the blossomed rose from a bud.
B. Relevance:
Our gospel today speaks of the beginnings of Jesus Christ (However, please don't take this genealogy of Jesus as literally historical. It only more or less describes where Jesus is coming from in his human condition). This genealogy takes its full blossoming with the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah whom we await to come.
C. Lead‑in:
With the illustration I have just shown to you, let me then share with you three important reasons why it is important to know our beginnings and most essentially our individual selves and identity that God has given us.
II. Body
First that we will be able to understand our Christian calling and
eventually our rights and obligations that the Church afforded to us.
Most of us, if not all, are heirs of the faith that is handed on to us by our forefathers, many generations had passed since the
Christianization of the
Through
our baptism, we are incorporated into Christ and thus called the people of God.
We thus participate in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly office of Christ.
This is our calling, according to our particular condition, that we may
exercise the mission that God entrusted to the Church to fulfill in the world
(Can. 204 par. 1). Moreover, we are also called to make a wholehearted effort
to lead a holy life... (
Second, that we will be able to know our direction. There is a certain direction that Jesus undertook throughout his whole earthly life because he knew where he is ultimately coming from. What we have heard today is only the roots of the humanity of Jesus, but the ultimate source of his earthly existence (as begotten by the Father and not created) is the Father. Indeed, through Jesus Christ we become adopted sons and daughters of the Father. Thus we can say, as creatures of God, we come from the Father too.
If our identity transcends from what is just being human with our own genealogies‑ then we are called to imitate Jesus Christ who is fully human and fully divine. And if this is so, we cannot turn our backs to learn the ways of Jesus and be deaf to the teachings of the Church.
Third, that we will be able to see the beauty of God that is within us when we truly know our true selves and identity. Let me tell you a story. One day, a man found himself in front of the Door of God. He wanted desperately to enter, but the door would not open. It was locked and he had no key. The man then went around the whole world to search for the key to the Door of God, but he could not find it. Exasperated, he returned to the Door of God and there he wept then he heard a voice that told him, "Look within you." The man did as he was told. He looked within, and opening his heart he found the key and used it. The Door of God opened and, inside, the man found God. The key was called "The Key of Who I am"
Like the man whom I told in the story, the key to see the beauty of God lies deep within us, in our hearts. We will not forget however, that understanding of who we are begins with our understanding of our beginnings.
III. Conclusion:
A. Creative Summary:
Everything that I have told you then point out to our calling of knowing our self and identity especially before God. Three things that you should not forget: knowing one's self leads us to understand our Christian calling, brings us into the right direction, and enable us to see the beauty of God that is already within us.
B. Application:
Now my dear friends (show the fully blossomed rose or the picture of a butterfly), do you want your life to become as beautiful as the rose or the butterfly know your beginnings and live your true self and identity before God
C. Memorable Closing Technique:
Like the rose that attracts and draw attention from the eyes of men and women, you will be so when you know who you really are.
Reflection 4
by Flavie L. Villanueva, SVD
Introduction / Attention Technique: Today’s gospel talks about family. But, before I proceed, allow me to make an illustration about it. I need three volunteers: a young child a mother and a senior citizen. Then ask them a question related to their ancestors (ie do you know your great-grandfather or great-grand mother; lola or lolo?) Possible answers: they don’t know, or know very little about them about it.
A story goes of a little girl asking her mother, “mama, why do you genuflect when you go inside the church?” with a smile the mother responded, “its because my mother (your lola) and her own mother taught that it is a sign of respect and reverence before God. As a result it brings me closer to God. The little girl, with a smile responded, “no wonder you’re so loving and good to me and to everyone, because your close to God”. With warm smile, she hugged and kissed her mother.
The gospel speaks about family, the family tree of Jesus. Allow me to presents to you two points about this Gospel:
Body: Two points
1) Jesus is God of Old and New Testament
- the list of Jesus ancestors goes all the way back to Abraham, the Father of our Faith and the Father of all nations. Through him the 3 major religions of today springs forth. (Judaism, Islam and Christianity). Jesus’ being a descendent of Abraham means that, the salvation that Jesus brings was intended for all people.
- Another figure or name that stands out is the name of King David. Jesus’ ancestry can be traced from King David to Joseph (Jesus’ foster father). King David is the central kingly figure of the Old Testament and later from his lineage, Jesus, the King and promised Messiah comes to rule and brings salvation to all. But as king, he searches for a dwelling place, “for there was no room in the inn”. Are our hearts ready to welcome him? Advent means, “adventus” to prepare, “an active waiting” How can we prepare and begin to welcome the Lord in our midst?
2) Jesus came from a family of saint and sinners.
- Another lesson we could draw from today’s gospel is that, Jesus though was God or divine, he had a very human origin. He came from a family of sinners and saints. Just as there were saintly figures like Abraham, Joseph or Ruth, there were also sinners.
- For one, the four women: Rahab, Tamar, Ruth, Beth-Sheba in the narratives were looked down because they were prostitutes of their time. (And even if they were despised, they were privileged to be mentioned as part of Jesus family tree in the Gospel of Matthew). Sinners also abound in the men of Jesus family, like, the brothers of Joseph sold to slavery out of envy for him (later he became a member of Pharoah’s court. We also could site King David who was for a time unfaithful both to God and his wife. (BUT PLEASE, this does not mean you can sell your brother or start being unfaithful!!) The point here is that, though of divine origin, God through Jesus would tell us, I wish to be part of your family. I wish to get to know you by living and sharing your shame and sins. With this truth, we are given the dignity to say, “The WORD dwelt among us sinners”.
Conclusion: In knowing our past and our family tree, we will learn and discover about our ancestors who they are and how they were. Perhaps, we would also trace why are we such today? We do we act and behave as such? Like the young girl in the story who was able to connect with her past, we too are invited to do the same. We are encourage to know, to be grateful and even forgive our ancestors and past. In so doing, we grow in our humanity.
Finally, as we grow in our humanity, we discover the God
who has faithfully journeyed with Abraham, King David, Tamar,
