SIMBANG GABI 2018 2
YEAR OF THE YOUTH
DECEMBER 17, 2018
JESUS, I trust in you!
Advent makes a significant turn
today. From being a preparation for the Lord’s 2nd coming, today it becomes a
direct preparation for Christmas. And our journey towards the day of the Lord’s
Nativity begins with the famous genealogy of the Lord Jesus. To many young
people, the reading today may sound boring. After all, it is just a list of
names of the human ancestors of the Lord. This is how it seems to be because we
never made the serious effort to know the stories beyond the names. If only we
made that effort, we will find out that these ancestors led very colorful and
intriguing lives. Let us take Judah for example.
Jacob wanted to marry Rachel and
worked for it for 7 years but later on was deceived by Lot to marry the elder
sister Leah. And so, Jacob had to work for another 7 years to take the younger
Rachel for his bride. Of course when they were married at last, Jacob showed
preference for Rachel whom he loved more than Leah. The Lord saw this and so he
favored Leah and Rachel did not bear children. Leah bore Jacob his first 3 sons and she
thought that she will be loved on account of them. But still she did not earn
her husband’s love. When she gave birth to her 4th son, Leah said,
“This time I will praise the Lord.” She named him “Judah” meaning “praise” or
“thanksgiving.”
The Book of Genesis today tells us
that Judah was destined to be great among the sons of Jacob. He was destined to
be the ancestor of the Israelite kings. He rose in leadership because his 3
elder brothers were disqualified on account of sexual misconduct of Reuben and
the bloody revenge by Simeon and Levi. Jacob blessed Judah in the presence of
his brothers: “The sons of your father shall bow down to you…Judah crouches
like a lion recumbent – the king of beasts.” The fourth son of the unloved wife
will be the ancestor of King David…and later on of Jesus. Jesus was the son of
David, the son of Judah, the son of Abraham.
God prepared the family to which
Jesus will be born in a truly amazing way. If we look at the lives of each
ancestor of the Lord, we will discover very scandalous cases. Tamar’s relation
with Judah was illicit because she was his daughter-in-law. At the very root
itself, we find the defects of the tree. No wonder David’s kingly line will
emerge from an illicit affair with Uriah’s wife which eventually led to murder.
Kung ano ang puno siya ang bunga.
If this were true of Judah and
David, how could Jesus have emerged unaffected by the “sins of his fathers?”
The answer is rather simple. Look at the end of the genealogy. It spoke of
Joseph not as the father of Jesus but as the husband of Mary. We all know that
St. Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus. He stood as the legal father
of Jesus but never was he Jesus’ biological father. “Joseph was the husband of
Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.” Jesus did not inherit
the generational sins of his family. He is the seed of the woman. Jesus was
born to redeem the sins of his people…but first of all the sins of his
ancestors.
Sometimes we wonder why we have
become what we are. It is important to look at our personal lineage (angkan).
To understand ourselves, we need to look at the ancestors who came before us.
Traits are inherited and so are sins and defects. (This is true even
biologically as there are families that are prone to certain diseases…we always
say that it runs in the family.) Sometimes, we suffer the curses incurred by
our ancestors. However, we should never feel helplessly trapped in this
situation. There is a way out. As Jesus cleansed his own family with his own
blood, so also should we ask him to cleanse our family with his blood. With
faith in our Lord and in his Blessed Mother, we must ask that the Cross be
placed between us and any unhealthy relationships.
The genealogy of Jesus shows us
that the Lord hails from a royal line. The Kingship of Jesus gives fulfillment
to the blessing of Jacob for Judah. Jesus is the powerful King who defeats the
enemy. He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah who has conquered and destroyed the
work of the devil. If only we put our faith in him and have recourse to the
Church which is his Kingdom of earth, we can rise from the faults of our fallen
generation. Faith in Christ empowers us in this spiritual battle. Jesus is the
Father’s gift to fallen humanity. In Jesus, we are beloved by God.
O Mary conceived without sin, pray
for us who have recourse to thee!
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