Friday of the Third Week of Advent

Saint Meinrad's Chapel

O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodisti,
attingens a fine usque ad finem fortiter,
suaviter disponensque omnia:
veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

O Wisdom, O holy Word of God,
you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care:
Come and show your people the way to salvation.

Thus the total number of generations
from Abraham to David
is fourteen generations;
from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;
from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,fourteen generations.


Beginning on December 17, the church celebrates the second half of Advent. The gospels are taken from the “Infancy Narratives” of Saint Matthew’s and Saint Luke’s gospels. Before the gospel, the “alleluia verse” of each day is adapted from the ancient “O antiphons,” which are proclaimed during the eight Evening Prayers until Christmas. (These antiphons are also the eight verses of Oh come, Oh come Emmanuel.

This latter phase of Advent is no longer about penance. John the Baptist falls silent before the Hush of God’s coming. There is no further need to consider the enormity of our sins for we are about to see the overwhelming Mercy of God, which makes the worse of our sins seem nothing at all. The Tide of God’s Goodness is flooding the beach and erasing our sand castles of sin. There will be no trace of evil and no stain of sin when the Lord comes.

Our gospel, the opening words of Saint Matthew’s Gospel, is rich with meaning:

• The genealogy reminds us that Jesus is truly a descendent of Abraham and a son of David.
• The numbering, three times fourteen, tell us God’s plan has been fulfilled precisely. If we didn’t notice those fourteens unfolding as they happen, they are obvious in retrospect. Graceful events in salvation history always happen like that. They’re obvious; we realize we could be saved in no other way, though we hadn’t a clue before.
• Wisdom, which governs all creation, is now appearing in the person of Jesus.
• If we’re wondering why we missed the clues, and why people still don’t see what is so obvious, we understand that human wisdom cannot see Revelation, only faith.
• Jesus is a human being, born of a distinguished but troubled line. Like the rest of us, he has rogues in his family.
• Despite the carefully scripted plan there is a surprise; Jesus is born of a Virgin. Although he is truly of David’s house, he was not exactly Joseph's son. The Evangelist elides this dilemma by saying, “Of her was born Jesus, who is called the Christ.”
• Four women in the genealogy remind us that women have played an important, even heroic role in Salvation History.
• The genealogy celebrates the humanity of Jesus. We know where he came from, in a sense; he is one of us! But we know nothing at all.
• Finally, the genealogy, with its sonorous repetitions and its solemn liturgical setting, reassures us that God is the Lord of all and there is no other.