September 8, 2015
Today is the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, in other words, it’s Mary’s birthday!!!!! I wonder what heaven is like on
a feast day like today? I imagine the miracle of changing water into wine is a
probably a birthday tradition, and of course the cake has zero calories, and
they hire people like Mozart and Beethoven to put a little band together for
some party tunes, and Maya Agelou may be commissioned to write a birthday poem,
and all the Broadway stars have put together a flash mob featuring saints like
Francis, Ignatius, Therese, and Claire, and the Holy Spirit has coordinated
with Jesus to do a touching toast with the wine that he changed from water, and
the disco ball is actually the moon bedazzled with real stars, and the conga
line is being led by Fred and Ginger, and Martin Luther King Jr. will do a
speech, and Whitney will sing the Ave Maria, and well, you get the idea!! The
Queen of the Universe is having a party today and it’s going to be pretty wild
in a focus on my Son, Jesus Christ, kind of way.
There used to be a TV show called Who Do You Think You Are? where celebrities would do elaborate
searches into their own ancestry and made some amazing discoveries about their
family tree. Some celebrities learned that their ancestors owned slaves, or
were related to one of the founding fathers of the United States, or were
mobsters, or suffered from mental illness, and the list goes on and on. Both
sides of my family tree have been extensively researched and recorded to be
handed down to generations to come. My great great great grandfather on my
mom’s side was the Emperor of the French island of Martinique. The Bedison
family was 3rd in line for the throne in Wales at one point in time.
My Portuguese roots are laced with musicians, singers, dancers, and lots and
lots of strong female characters. Knowing where and from whom we have come is
an important part of who we are. The gospel of Matthew begins with the genealogy
of Jesus’ family history and it is fascinating.
The most interesting thing about the genealogy of Christ is
the placement of 5 specific and somewhat questionable women. Women didn’t
generally make it into people’s genealogies, but in the case of the King of
Kings, we have 5 mentioned: 2 prostitutes, 1 Moabite, 1 adulterer, and 1 virgin.
I find this fascinating because God is clearly trying to tell us that He is
bigger than our misfortunes. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bethsheba, and Mary all get
billing in the genealogy of Christ because God can even work with crooked lines
and miraculous conceptions to write His love songs to us. These women have
fascinating stories and I encourage you to look into their little part of
salvation history to give you confidence that God can also work in and through
you and me. One last note on the genealogy of Christ is that both Joseph and
Mary are in his blood-line making it absolutely certain that Jesus is without a
doubt from the line of Judah, and the Messiah. I love details like this because
they give me assurance that God knows what He’s doing and that His plan is
always better than my own.
Today’s feast day and gospel take us back to our roots. Our own personal ancestry and the ancestors
of our Christian faith, give us the foundation of who we are as people. Some of
that lineage might be dubious but it is NEVER beyond God’s power. Take a few
moments to think about your own family history. Some of us stand on the
shoulders of giants and some of us do not, but looking at Jesus’ family tree
might just give us comfort because it shows that God really can work with
anyone. Lastly, go back and read about Mary’s heavenly birthday party and add a
couple of things from your own imagination to the line up. If we all contribute
our thoughts on the matter, it is bound to be the best party ever. And as a special birthday present,
love others the way Mary's son loves you!!!! Yay!!!
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lectionary: 636
Reading 1 MI 5:1-4A
The LORD says:
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah,
too small to be among the clans of Judah,
From you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;
Whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.
(Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth has borne,
And the rest of his brethren shall return
to the children of Israel.)
He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock
by the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;
And they shall remain, for now his greatness
shall reach to the ends of the earth;
he shall be peace.
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah,
too small to be among the clans of Judah,
From you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;
Whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.
(Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth has borne,
And the rest of his brethren shall return
to the children of Israel.)
He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock
by the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;
And they shall remain, for now his greatness
shall reach to the ends of the earth;
he shall be peace.
Or ROM 8:28-30
Brothers and sisters:
We know that all things work for good for those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose.
For those he foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son,
so that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers.
And those he predestined he also called;
and those he called he also justified;
and those he justified he also glorified.
Though I trusted in your mercy,
let my heart rejoice in your salvation.
R. With delight I rejoice in the Lord.
Let me sing of the LORD, “He has been good to me.”
R. With delight I rejoice in the Lord.
Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise;
from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We know that all things work for good for those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose.
For those he foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son,
so that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers.
And those he predestined he also called;
and those he called he also justified;
and those he justified he also glorified.
Responsorial Psalm PS 13:6AB, 6C
R. (Isaiah 61:10) With delight I rejoice in the Lord.Though I trusted in your mercy,
let my heart rejoice in your salvation.
R. With delight I rejoice in the Lord.
Let me sing of the LORD, “He has been good to me.”
R. With delight I rejoice in the Lord.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Blessed are you, holy Virgin Mary, deserving of all praise;
from you rose the sun of justice, Christ our God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MT 1:1-16, 18-23
The Book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar.
Perez became the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab.
Boaz became the father of Obed,
whose mother was Ruth.
Obed became the father of Jesse,
Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asaph.
Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah became the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amos,
Amos the father of Josiah.
Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the Babylonian exile.
After the Babylonian exile,
Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.
Abiud became the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok.
Zadok became the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar became the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar.
Perez became the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab.
Boaz became the father of Obed,
whose mother was Ruth.
Obed became the father of Jesse,
Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asaph.
Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah became the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amos,
Amos the father of Josiah.
Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the Babylonian exile.
After the Babylonian exile,
Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.
Abiud became the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok.
Zadok became the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar became the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
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