Daily Gospel Reflection for December 17, 2022

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: Matthew 1:1-17

Our Gospel today can seem rather monotonous: ‘Must Matthew drone on and on with all these names?’ we might think. I know I have several times. Did you also know that this reading (and several verses more) is the Gospel reading at the Christmas Vigil Mass? It is repeated again there, during that important feast. I have to wonder, then, if I might be missing something (or things?) in this reading.

In the first reading Jacob tells his sons, “The scepter shall never depart from Judah,” and this, in part, is what we find in Matthew: that important lineage of Judah (and beyond). The King who holds the scepter is born from this lineage. It isn’t a perfect history; the names in the genealogy represent lovers, sinners, murderers, adulterers, and faithful, to name a few. And yet they are the testament to God’s faithful work, just as we, ourselves, are that testament now too. God can take our lives, as messy and sinful as they are, and Christ can be born in us.

There is a growth in humanity from its dusty beginnings in Eden; not only do we recognize the unfortunate aspect of humanity’s fall from grace and its enduring consequence (original sin), but we can recognize that from before that fall, humanity has been MADE for relationship with God. We see a gradual unfolding of preparing Israel, the light of the nations, to bring forth this scepter, this King. And so too it is with us. We are made for the divine, and Christ can make His home in our lives.

Ponder:

Name an event that has occurred in your life where Christ’s presence was born or where you became aware that His life has indeed been mingled into your own. What inspiration do you still carry from that encounter?

Pray:

O Wisdom, O Word of God, You govern all creation with Your strong yet tender care. Come and show Your people the way to salvation.

Click to tweet:
God can take our lives, as messy and sinful as they are, and Christ can be born in us. #dailygospel

Copyright 2022 Jane Korvemaker