Who are these people?

Friday, December 17^th  

Of Advent

Genesis 49: 2, 8-10

Matthew 1:1-17

All School Mass

I nailed all those Jewish names!

Who knows the names of your parents?

Who knows the names of your grandparents?

Who knows the names of your great-grandparents?

Why is it essential we hear all 42 of these names proclaimed in our Gospel? It is important to hear all these names because we are assured that God has been intimately involved in all of the world’s creation. Listing all those names also fulfills the prophecy that the Messiah would come from Abraham through the line of King David.

Another reason to hear those names is to know that some of those people were saints and sinners. Yet, God used them all to bring about his will of having the Son of God born among us. Our hope should be that with all of our gifts and limitations, we live in such a way as to have our names listed among those mentioned today.

The great ending to our reading is being fulfilled in our midst as in the days we have remaining. We will celebrate the Christ Child being born unto us on Christmas day.

May we always know that Jesus Christ is the reason for the Season?