Daily Readings September 8, 2012

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary 

Today we celebrate the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Read more.

Lectionary: 636

Reading 1 from the book of Micah

Mi 5:1-4a

The LORD says: 

You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah,too small to be among the clans of Judah,From you shall come forth for meone who is to be ruler in Israel;Whose origin is from of old,from ancient times.

This is the prediction of the Birth of the Messiah to which the counselors of Herod made reference when the Magi came seeking the new born King.

(Therefore the Lord will give them up,

This is reference to the fact that the Jews were given up to a blindness of the Spirit until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled:

Romans 11:25King James Version (KJV)²⁵ For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

until the time
when she who is to give birth has borne,
And the rest of his brethren shall return
to the children of Israel.)

This woman is, of course, Mary.  She who is to give birth.

Surprisingly, do you see that it says until she has "borne".  This is a reference to us, the rest of His brethren, as well as Jesus.  Read the Scripture with me:

Revelation 12:17
King James Version (KJV)
¹⁷ And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 

He shall stand firm and shepherd his flockby the strength of the LORD,in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;And they shall remain, for now his greatnessshall reach to the ends of the earth;he shall be peace.

And of course, that continues on prophecying the coming of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Or the Alternate reading from St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans

Rom 8:28-30

Brothers and sisters: We know that all things work for good for those who love God,

Everything which happens, in this world, whether we view it as evil or good, works for the benefit of those who love God.

who are called according to his purpose.

We begin to venture into the mystery of predestination.  I want you to notice a couple of things.

First, St. Paul says that those who love God are called to do so according to His purpose.  Scripture has said this before:

John 15:16
King James Version (KJV)
¹⁶ Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 

This verse from John 15, is a reference to Jesus having chosen or "called" the 12 Apostles.  REMEMBER that of the 12, one was a traitor. Scripture also says in another place, many are called, few are chosen.

Matthew 20:16
King James Version (KJV)
¹⁶ So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

I think we can safely rule out "Once Saved Always Saved (OSAS)" and "Double Predestination" here.

OSAS is the idea that once we are called, we are saved and we can't lose our salvation.
Double Predestination is the idea that God predestined 1)  some to heaven and 2) some to hell.

Next, I want you to notice that he begins his explanation below.  Above, he began with God's calling.  But note that God's calling is again mentioned a few verses below.  After we are predestined.

What that means to me is that "predestination" is not absolute. Scripture is replete with examples of people who have been called by God, over and over, and yet they fail to live up to their calling. Beginning with Adam and Eve.

For those he foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son,

If you remember, Adam and Eve were made in the image of God.  And that is why Satan rebelled.  He would not serve the Godman, Jesus.  You see, God knew that Jesus would come in the flesh.  Therefore, Adam and Eve were made in the image of Jesus, (i.e. God in the flesh).


so that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers.

Many brothers in the Spiritual sense.  I take you back to Gen 3:15 and Rev 12:17 again.  We are all seed of the Woman, Mary.  We are all brothers of Christ.


What this says, literally, is that God made us in the image of His Son so that He might take us into heaven.  It reminds me of this teaching:

460 The Word became flesh to make us "partakers of the divine nature":"For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God." "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God." "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods."

And those he predestined he also called;

Ok, here we arrive at being called.  Those whom God foreknew and predestined, from the time of Adam and Eve, He also called.  If I remember correctly, God also called Adam and Eve and they fell from grace.

and those he called he also justified;

At this point then, in order to make sense of it to myself, I have to assume that St. Paul means that God justifies those who answer His call.

and those he justified he also glorified.

And then, those who have answered His call, He also glorifies in heaven.  Now, here's the detail which many leave out.  If we correlate this with another Scripture:

Romans 8:17
King James Version (KJV)
¹⁷ And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Note the points of similarity here.  
1.  Joint heirs with Christ.  Is this the same as brethren?
2.  Glorified together.

Yet, the sign of predestination is suffering.  What did Jesus say in the Gospels?

Matthew 10:38
King James Version (KJV)
³⁸ And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

I remind you that I am not a theologian.  The mystery of predestination goes over my head.  So, you might find it helpful to read up on this doctrine from some other source.   St. Thomas Aquinas had a few things to say about it.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 13:6ab, 6c

Response. (Isaiah 61:10) With delight I rejoice in the Lord.

Though I trusted in your mercy,
let my heart rejoice in your salvation.

R. With delight I rejoice in the Lord.

Let me sing of the LORD, "He has been good to me."

R. With delight I rejoice in the Lord.

This is a wonderful lesson. We must always delight in the Lord, whether we receive things we consider good or evil:

Philippians 4:5-7
King James Version (KJV)
⁵ Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.⁶ Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.⁷ And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Gospel Mt 1:1-16, 18-23

This begins with a long genealogy of Jesus and it is very interesting to look the names up in the Bible.  You will find that Jesus was not ashamed to come from a line that included one harlot (Rahab and one who fell from grace when he murdered the man with whose wife he committed adultery, King David).

The Book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac,Isaac the father of Jacob,Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,whose mother was Tamar.Perez became the father of Hezron,Hezron the father of Ram,Ram the father of Amminadab.Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,Nahshon the father of Salmon,Salmon the father of Boaz,whose mother was Rahab.Boaz became the father of Obed,whose mother was Ruth.Obed became the father of Jesse,Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon,whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,Rehoboam the father of Abijah,Abijah the father of Asaph.Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,Joram the father of Uzziah.Uzziah became the father of Jotham,Jotham the father of Ahaz,Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,Manasseh the father of Amos,Amos the father of Josiah.Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothersat the time of the Babylonian exile.
After the Babylonian exile,Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.Abiud became the father of Eliakim,Eliakim the father of Azor,Azor the father of Zadok.Zadok became the father of Achim,Achim the father of Eliud,Eliud the father of Eleazar.Eleazar became the father of Matthan,Matthan the father of Jacob,Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.

At this point we come to Joseph and Jesus and a part of Salvation History with which most of us are familiar.

Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.

Joseph is, of course, Jesus stepfather. It is interesting to compare the Old Testament Joseph, the son of Jacob, with Joseph the spouse of Mary. OT Joseph was put in charge of the Pharaoh's household. NT Joseph was put in charge of God's household.

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,but before they lived together,she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.

As Matthew begins to tell the story of Jesus' birth, he narrates how Mary was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit before she and Joseph lived together.

Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,yet unwilling to expose her to shame,decided to divorce her quietly.

Joseph did not want to shame her, so he decided to leave her quietly.

Such was his intention when, behold,the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,"Joseph, son of David,do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.

Interesting turn of phrase here.  Because we are also called to take Mary into our homes.  As our mother:

John 19:25-27
King James Version (KJV)
²⁵ Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.²⁶ When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!²⁷ Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

But God sent the Angel Gabriel to Joseph in a dream.  And he said that Joseph should not be afraid to accept Mary into his home.

For it is through the Holy Spiritthat this child has been conceived in her.She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,because he will save his people from their sins.

He also told him that Jesus had been conceived of the Holy Spirit and that He would save His people, meaning those who obey Him, from their sins:

Hebrews 5:9
King James Version (KJV)
⁹ And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

All this took place to fulfillwhat the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,which means "God is with us." and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means "God is with us.

All this took place so that the Prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 might come true.

 Or the alternate reading from the Gospel according to Matthew

Mt 1:18-23

The alternate reading simply leaves out the genealogy.  I'll reproduce it here without commentary.

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"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 will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.?
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means "God is with us."

Sincerely,

De Maria