Word to the Wise
Saturday, December 18, 2021 - December 18
[Jer 23:5-8 and Matt 1:18-24]Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; as king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell in security. This is the name they give him: "The Lord our justice." [Jeremiah] "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 is to bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." [Matthew]
Promise and fulfillment are represented today in the promise made to King David. This promise is described in 2 Samuel 7:11-16. Jeremiah echoes this in our first scripture for today. The gospel scripture reinforces it in the address to Joseph as "son of David." The traditional Advent devotion, the "Jesse tree," referring to David's father, Jesse, is based on this promise.
The evangelists, Matthew and Luke, drew heavily from the Gospel According to Mark, but Mark did not include any stories of Jesus' origins. Matthew and Luke each had their own traditions and resources to draw from. And each of the two evangelists painted different portraits of Jesus in their gospel accounts. The role of Mary is less emphasized in Matthew, who provides an "annunciation to Joseph" as part of his emphasis on Jesus' Davidic lineage. It is Joseph's cooperation that matters to Matthew. (Scripture scholars tell us that the "infancy narratives" are actually "mini-gospels" that contain the major themes of Matthew and Luke.)
All of the promise/fulfillment elements remind us of the "wonder of the Incarnation" in which earth and heaven - the physical and transcendent - are joined by God the creator and redeemer. Mortal beings - Abraham, David, Joseph, Mary - become the bearers of transcendent truth. So do we when we proclaim, "Christ is born!" AMEN