Daily Thought For December 17, 2020

 The Jubilee Generation

Lectio

Matthew 1:1–17

Meditatio

  “Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah.”

At first, these verses may simply seem to be a collection of names and therefore incapable of producing meaning. However, these verses, like Mary, are pregnant with hidden treasure. The list of names produces a pattern that creates an expectation. It becomes predictable. One man fathers another; one generation follows another; after every fourteen generations an event important to the history of the Chosen People takes place.

This pattern is randomly broken with the inclusion of several women whose marital status or ethnicity is outside of the norm. They are the key that unlocks the passage’s meaning. The Chosen People’s expectation is shattered. The Messiah, the Son of David, is not fathered. Rather, his sole human origin lies in a woman. Whose son is he? Whose name does he bear? Whose inheritance can he claim?

And what about the fourteen generations? Each set of fourteen generations is made up of two sets of seven generations. So, six sets of generations have preceded Jesus. His generation inaugurates the seventh set and ushers in the Jubilee Year (see Lev 25:8–11). In the Jubilee Year all were supposed to return to their “ancestral property,” thus reclaiming their patrimony. For those generations following the period of exile, the significance of the Jubilee Year—returning home—would have had tremendous meaning.

Jesus is the brother who redeems us and restores us to the family of God (see Lev 25:35–55). And since he inaugurates the Jubilee Generation, we are also set free to reclaim the inheritance that was lost through original sin. This Jubilee Generation has no end.

Oratio

Father of all, Father of Jesus, our Father, my Father.

I experience in many ways the consequences of sin. My expectations are often based on the repetition of patterns rather than on your promise. Break the patterns in my life that hold me bound in servitude. Allow me to recognize that when patterns are broken in my life, you are drawing near to be with me. Help me to welcome the freedom you offer me through your Son, my brother—a freedom that restores our relationship. You are my Father; I am your child. Amen.

Contemplatio

“I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me … I will maintain him in my house and in my kingdom forever …” (1 Chr 17:13–14).

Daughters of Saint Paul. (2009). Advent Grace: Daily Gospel Reflections (pp. 64–65). Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media.