Day 2:  December 17

Reflections on Mt. 1:1‑17

by Ramil A. Realista SP

 

Attention technique and background of the Gospel (audience participation)

 

The Homilist will ask for the participation of the mass goers. He will be giving hand signals along the way and solicit the respond of the mass goers according to the Sim For example, if the homilist gives a thumb up sign the mass goers will clap and cheer. If the homilist sign thumbs down, the respond is to boo and hiss. Lastly, if the homilist signs of a fist, then the mass goers say "HUH?' The preacher will do this by rows in pews of the church, then read the passage, giving the hand signals according to the instruction below.

 

• = thumbs up (clap and cheer)

♥   = thumbs down (boo and hiss)

♣   = fist (HUH?)

 

This is the list of the ancestors of Jesus Christ,● a descendant of David● , who was a descendant of            Abraham●.

Abraham was the father of Isaac●, who was the father of Jacob the man who stole his brother's birthright♥. And Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers who sold Joseph into slavery♥. 

And Judah was the Father of Perez and Zerah♣ by Tamar♣ and Perez was the father of Hezron and Hezron           the Father of Ram and Ram the father of Amminidab. ♣

And Amminidab was the father of Nahson, who was the father of Salmon who was the father of Boaz by     Rahab, the prostitute♥.

And Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, a great woman whose story is told in the book of the Bible         bearing her name●

And Obed was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David the king●.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife Uriah whom he had murdered♥.

And Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, a good king, but one who disobeyed God for several years♥

And Rehoboam was the father of Abijah, who had fourteen wives♣

And Abijah was the father of Asa, a good king but later disobeyed God and died of gangrene of the feet♥.

      Asa was the father of Jehosophat, a king who ruled wisely most of the time●.

      Jehosophat was the father of Joram♣, the father of Uzziah, whose pride caused his downfall♥.

      But Uzziah was the father of Jotham, a very good king in every way●.

     And Jotham was the Father of Ahaz, a very bad king in every way♥.

     And Azah was the father of Hezekiah, who cleansed the temple and re‑established the kingdom●.

     Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, who ruled for fifty‑five years●, but who was evil for most of that         time♥

     Manasseh was the father of Josiah, who did right in the eyes of the Lord●

     Josiah was the father of Jechoniah♣, who was the father of Shealtiel♣, the father of Zerubbabel, a governor of the people who was chosen by God●.

     And Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud♣ who was the father of Eliakim♣, the father of Azor♣, the father of                   Zadoc♣, the father of achim♣,  Eliud, the father of Eleazar♣ the father of Matthen♣ the father of Jacob (not             the one we spoke of earlier) ♣.

     And Jacob was the father of Joseph the carpenter●, who was the husband of Virgin Mary●, of whom was   born Jesus, whom we call Lord of Lords and of the kings the Christ●.

 

            The Bible is not afraid to show that there are all kinds of people in Jesus' family tree. There are good people, bad people and people we don't know practically nothing about. Some were kings and heroes of the faith who were dedicated completely to God. Others, however, were sinners on grand scale: murderers, prostitutes, and all kinds of unsavory character.

            The vast majority were ordinary people, just like you and I.

            This is a very hopeful thing for us, First, it means that even though our parents aren't perfect, God can still use us. Over and over in Scripture, we see bad parents producing good kids. Just because your parents or grandparents weren't faithful to God doesn't mean that you can't be, Look at Jesus' family, it is not far from our families background also. God shows us that we potentially to be a good person, even though our family background, surroundings, community, society is not so good. You know why? Because we are innate good. God created us good, whose infinite good.  Although we are limited good, we are imperfect as a human being. We are all sinners. But don't be stagnant. Lot us not forget as what the canon law 204 says, that we are Christ's faithful, incorporated into Christ the begotten Son of God through baptism, constituted as the people of God. For this reason we participate the way in the priestly, prophetic and king office of Christ.

            Second, it means that God can use any body to accomplish His will and to make difference in the world. God destined for us in a certain roles within this chaos world to promote His peace and to spread goodness in different ways. He challenge us, even though who we am. God didn't choose the best people in the world to produce the Messiah. Instead, he had a habit of choosing people with flaws,

            So, if you feel flawed‑that's okay, don't loose hope. God is merciful, we are always welcome on His kingdom. What God wants for us is our initiative to approach with Him with sincere hearts and humility.

            By this Christmas season, once again God invites us to enter into His kingdom because of His love for us. Even though in ourselves we think that we are not worthy because of our imperfect background or history that leads us into compulsion to resist Him. We are all welcome even though who we are, we are all sons and daughters of God. God challenge us to know more His Son Jesus Christ that born in an imperfect family. By knowing more to Jesus' life, the more we know ourselves. And by persisting to know Jesus it guides into gradual conversion and leads us into holiness.