The WORD in ADVENT - December 17, 2022
Christmas Novena - Day 2Genesis 49: 2, 8-10; Matthew 1: 1-17
The first reading today speaks of the sons of Jacob, and among them Judah who has to rule! The lineage already foretold to bring the Messiah into the world. The Gospel reading gives us the whole lineage of Jesus, the Christ who is to come! Starting from Abraham and passing through Judah, arriving at David and all the way to Jesus. The discourse on lineage is an underscoring of how relationhsip holds a pride of place within the covenant of the Lord.
Let us look at those who are around us... we know them all - their history, their geography, their background... and with all these, we think we know them so much, that we run the risk of missing the Lord who wants to encounter us in them, in their words or gestures! Can we take our relationships for granted: that is the central question today.
There is a practical danger in our life, that we look at some persons everyday or meet them so regularly, that they no longer really mean anything to us. This is one of the blocks that can lead us to miss the Lord who comes to us - taking persons with us for granted.
The antiphon of the Novena today inspires us to call upon the Lord as the Wisdom from on high, that enlightens us towards prudence and true knowledge. Based on Isaiah 11:2-3 and Isaiah 28:29... the antiphon recalls the most popular attribute given to the Spirit of the Lord and the Word of God which is seen active in creation and order of the universe. It is this Word, who becomes flesh to dwell among us (John 1:14). The prayer today is for Prudence, to be guided by the Wisdom of the Lord, that we may take nothing, particularly no one, around us for granted!
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