It is 17th December 2019. The readings are from Genesis 49:2, 9-10; and the Gospel from Matthew 1:1-17. From today all our readings ruminate profoundly on the birth of Christ. Blessings of our parents and grand parents are essential for the development of the child. Our family trees and connections have great impact on the present and the future ventures. Some of us have become endeared children of our parents while others are not. The choices and actions we did at younger age either against the parents or the family connections alters the probability of blessings. Our actions of today need to be taken seriously because it has the power to shape the future. In the first reading, we reflect about the blessing of Jacob on his sons. Reserving his blessings towards the oldest son for his instability and untrustworthiness, Jacob blessed Judah and later on Judah became the ancestor of Israel’s line of kings and eventually produced the promised Messiah, Jesus. The responsorial Psalm praises, “Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.” (Ps.71:7). In the Gospel, we read the genealogy from Matthew to prove that Jesus is the descent of both king David and Abraham. The long-awaited birth of Jesus was well observed by the ordinary people like the shepherds and the noble seekers like that Magi. Family line is very significant to know how much the families are closer to God or how much God was closer to our families. The sceptre of Judah belongs Jesus rightfully and Jesus is the true Messiah. Jesus enters the human history in time of pain and repression from Roman empire. The reading and reflecting about 46 people who were so closely connected to the ancestry of Jesus. Some were heroes and heroines of faith, some were tainted in reputation, and some other were so evil. God’s display of mercy and goodness is not limited to human limitations and failures or sins. God works through ordinary and fallen people in an extra ordinary way. God wants us to use today to bring Jesus into the world through our merciful and loving acts towards the needy. Whatever the family background we come from whether good or bad, still God wants to use us to accomplish God’s will and plan. May we allow ourselves to be used by God. May you have a good day.

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