Christ and History

The Seventeenth Day of December (Christmas Novena) A-1

Entrance Antiphon Cf. Is 49:13 Rejoice, O heavens, and exult, O earth, for our Lord will come to show mercy to his poor.

Collect O God, Creator and Redeemer of human nature, who willed that your Word should take flesh in an ever virgin womb, look with favour on our prayers, that your Only Begotten Son, having taken to himself our humanity, may be pleased to grant us a share in his divinity. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

(December 17) Lazarus Lazarus, the friend of Jesus, the brother of Martha and Mary, was the one of whom the Jews said, "See how much he loved him." In their sight Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. Legends abound about the life of Lazarus after the death and resurrection of Jesus. He is supposed to have left a written account of what he saw in the next world before he was called back to life. Some say he followed Peter into Syria. Another story is that despite being put into a leaking boat by the Jews at Jaffa, he, his sisters and others landed safely in Cyprus. There he died peacefully after serving as bishop for 30 years. A church was built in his honour in Constantinople and some of his reputed relics were transferred there in 890. A Western legend has the oarless boat arriving in Gaul. There he was bishop of Marseilles, was martyred after making a number of converts and was buried in a cave. His relics were transferred to the new cathedral in Autun in 1146. It is certain there was early devotion to the saint. Around the year 390, the pilgrim lady Etheria talks of the procession that took place on the Saturday before Palm Sunday at the tomb where Lazarus had been raised from the dead. In the West, Passion Sunday was called Dominica de Lazaro, and Augustine tells us that in Africa the Gospel of the raising of Lazarus was read at the office of Palm Sunday. Many people who have had a near-death experience report losing all fear of death. When Lazarus died a second time, perhaps he was without fear. He must have been sure that Jesus, the friend with whom he had shared many meals and conversations, would be waiting to raise him again. We don’t share Lazarus’ firsthand knowledge of returning from the grave. Nevertheless, we too have shared meals and conversations with Jesus, who waits to raise us, too.

Scripture today: Genesis 49:2, 8-10; Psalm 72:1-2, 3-4ab, 7-8, 17; Matthew 1:1-17

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac. And Isaac begot Jacob. Jacob begot Judas and his brethren. Judas begot Phares and Zara of Thamar. Phares begot Esron. Esron begot Aram. Aram begot Aminadab. Aminadab begot Naasson. Naasson begot Salmon. Salmon begot Booz of Rahab. Booz begot Obed of Ruth. Obed begot Jesse. Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon, of her that had been the wife of Urias. Solomon begot Roboam. Roboam begot Abia. Abia begot Asa. Asa begot Josaphat. Josaphat begot Joram. Joram begot Ozias. Ozias begot Joatham. Joatham begot Achaz. Achaz begot Ezechias. Ezechias begot Manasses. Manesses begot Amon. And Amon begot Josias. Josias begot Jechonias and his brethren in the transmigration of Babylon. After the transmigration of Babylon, Jechonias begot Salathiel. Salathiel begot Zorobabel. Zorobabel begot Abiud. Abiud begot Eliacim. Eliacim begot Azor. Azor begot Sadoc. Sadoc begot Achim. Achim begot Eliud. Eliud begot Eleazar. Eleazar begot Mathan. Mathan begot Jacob. Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So all the generations, from Abraham to David, are fourteen generations. From David to the transmigration of Babylon, are fourteen generations, and from the Babylonian exile to Christ are fourteen generations. (Matthew 1:1-17)

Christ and History There are a great number of individuals and families who are interested in their family histories. Library after library has its specialist in genealogical investigations and many websites assist people in tracking down the story of their ancestors. Many find their family backgrounds fascinating and as far as they are concerned their stories give to their own lives a framework and a certain meaning. Our Gospel passage today gives us Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus Christ showing him to be the direct descendant of David, and through David, of Abraham. This is not the place to compare and discuss in an exegetical sense this genealogy with that of the Gospel of Luke, but we can at least ask, what impression do we gain of the history that is presented in this genealogy? We gain many impressions, but we observe that Matthew employs a device in presentation. Our Lord’s entire genealogy is shown as a neat set of three blocks of fourteen generations. We can at least notice that while Matthew presents three blocks of fourteen generations he does not insist that there were only this number. He seems to have picked out the principal personages among the generations, while endeavouring to give a general impression. That impression is of things having gone to plan — God’s plan, that is. As we read the names mentioned, we think of the ups and downs of human foibles and strengths and weaknesses over the nearly two thousand years prior to Christ. As illustrated in various parts of the Old Testament, this history is a history of God’s action and man’s very mixed response. Holiness and sin appear in all the nooks and crannies of the story of these generations, but it is nevertheless going according to an overarching plan. The plan is the saving plan of God that the Messiah will come at the appointed time. The time has been determined and God has the matter in hand. Finally the flower appears, the jewel of the race, the hero of the ages, the King.

Not only does our Gospel passage remind us that God has all in hand despite the chequered nature of the flow of human history, but it reminds us of the supremacy and centrality of the person of Jesus. He is the apex of the story of the generations of God’s chosen people that began with the call of Abraham. Beyond that story of a family and a people, Christ is the apex of human history, a point brought out more clearly by Luke in his genealogy that takes our Lord back to Adam. Our Gospel passage today (Matthew 1:1‑17) shows that salvation is from the Jews, and that salvation is embodied and offered in the greatest and most splendid person of the Jewish race, Jesus of Nazareth. He is the glory of the chosen people, the greatest and most unique of the sons of Abraham. He is the son par excellence of David and of Abraham, and is also their Lord. As our Lord reminded his critics on one occasion, David said (in one of the psalms), “The Lord said to my Lord, sit on my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool.” He, the Messiah is both son of David and is David’s Lord. Moreover, as the psalm insinuates, complete victory will be his. So the record of Christ’s genealogy in our Gospel passage today reminds us that Christ is the centre of everything and therefore of our own personal history and life as well. So let us acknowledge him as such. Furthermore, just as a very human and sinful story preceded the appearance of Christ at the appointed time, so too our own all too human and sinful story does not preclude the eventual triumph of Christ in our life. God has things in hand. We can count on the power and the grace of God to bless our faulty struggles with the victory of Christ in our souls. The inspired genealogy of Christ in today’s Gospel gives us hope that just as God’s plan in Christ was fulfilled despite the flawed setting in which it all happened, so too God’s plan for our holiness in Christ can be fulfilled in our life.

Let us ask God for the grace to trust in his power to bring to fruition his plan for each one of us. He brought it to fruition in the life of his chosen people and that fruition was the arrival of the Redeemer, Jesus of Nazareth, son of David, son of Abraham. So too by his grace, God can transform us into the image of Christ his Son, despite our unpromising material.

(E.J.Tyler)

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