Liturgical Colour : Purple or Violet
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today it was told to us about the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is a descendant of Abraham, the father of many nations and our father in faith, and also a descendant of Jacob later known as Israel, who is the one blessed by God to be the chosen people, Israel, His people. He is also the descendant of David, the King of Israel, who belonged to the tribe of Judah.
We can see that Jacob, who in our first reading today from the last chapters of the Book of Genesis, blessed his children one by one, pronouncing their future and their goodness, showed how God had shown to Jacob the vision of what would happen in the far future after his own time. Jacob must have seen the vision of the coming of the Messiah, although he did not know exactly who He is, but he knew that He is to come.
And indeed, He was to come through Judah his own son, whom Jacob then blessed more than all of his other sons, even more than his eldest Reuben and even more than his most beloved ones, Joseph and his two children and Benjamin. For Judah had been prophesied to be the from whom the King of kings would come from, the one from whom would come a king who would rule all of Israel, and this was David, the one whom God had appointed in place of Saul as the king of Israel, and on whom God had promised that his throne will remain secure forever.
The sceptre of power and rule will be given to the descendant of David, the Shoot of David, who is the One we are going to celebrate this coming Christmas. Yes, the Christ, whose birthday is on Christmas. The Christ who was given the Name above every other name, Jesus, our Lord. For He is indeed the Son of David, his Heir who will rule over all Israel, and not just Israel, but the whole world, the Son of Man through Mary His mother, but also the Son of God, the Divine Word incarnate into the flesh of Man.
He is a King with power and authority, the source of all worldly power and authorities, but yet, He is not the kind of king that we commonly know about in this world. Jesus Himself said that His kingdom is not of this world, because His kingdom is the kingdom of God, not like any of the kingdoms of the world, which are built on possessions, material wealth, power, land, peoples and many others. The kingdom of God is the place where God and His beloved people may live together, those who have been found to be worthy, to enjoy forever the blessings and graces of God.
Jesus is a King, but He is simple and humble, and He showed His authority and power not by intimidation and fear, but through service and love towards all those who have been placed under His authority. He showed His leadership and kingship by service, showing care and genuine love for the poor, defending the rights of the weak and challenging those who have persecuted these people for their own benefits.
It is this King who we are welcoming into our midst in this coming Christmas, the Royal Baby born for us, so that through Him we are to get salvation and liberation from sin and evil. We must not forget this fact, or else, our Christmas celebration is meaningless and empty, filled with worldly desires and things of this world. We celebrate not to show off our wealth, not to be engulfed in excesses and drunkenness, but we celebrate because the Hope of this world, and the Hope of all mankind, had been born.
This Advent, as I have often mentioned, is a time for preparation for the coming of our Lord and Saviour. Not just to prepare for Christmas, but also to prepare for His coming again at the end of time, when He will come to judge all creations, and all of us according to our deeds. How do we prepare properly for this then? It is by exactly doing what Jesus had done throughout His ministry, what He taught His disciples to do, and we ought to follow them too.
Thus this Advent we should involve ourselves in more charitable and loving actions to our brethren in need. We should share the joy we have, the fortune and happiness we have with those who have less or none. In doing all these, we will be able to find the true meaning of Advent, and the true meaning of Christmas, that is to celebrate with God, our Lord Jesus Christ, for the love, hope and peace which He had brought into us all, so that we may rejoice with Him.
May Almighty God be with us all and awaken in us an ever stronger desire to seek Him and to love Him, as well as our brethren around us. May this Advent be a fruitful one for all of us, and may the coming Christmas bring God’s love ever closer to us. Amen.
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