Jacob called his sons and said to them:
"Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob,
listen to Israel, your father.
"You, Judah, shall your brothers praise
– your hand on the neck of your enemies;
the sons of your father shall bow down to you.
Judah, like a lion's whelp,
you have grown up on prey, my son.
He crouches like a lion recumbent,
the king of beasts – who would dare rouse him?
The scepter shall never depart from Judah,
or the mace from between his legs,
While tribute is brought to him,
and he receives the people's homage."
R (see 7) Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king's son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
The mountains shall yield peace for the people,
and the hills justice.
He shall defend the afflicted among the people,
save the children of the poor.
R Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
May his name be blessed forever;
as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed;
all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.
This is the document of the origins of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.
Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (their mother was Tamar), Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron of Aram. Aram was the father of Aminadab, Aminadab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Salmon.
Salmon was the father of Boaz. His mother was Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed. His mother was Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse.
Jesse was the father of David, the king. David was the father of Solomon. His mother had been Uriah's wife.
Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Then came the kings: Abijah, Asaph, Jehoshaphat, Joram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah.
Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
After the deportation to Babylon Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel and Salathiel of Zerubbabel.
Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud of Eliakim, and Eliakim of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, and Akim the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar of Matthan, and Matthan of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus who is called the Christ-the Messiah.
There were then fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, and fourteen generations from David to the deportation to Babylon, and fourteen generations from the deportation to Babylon to the birth of Christ.
God’s Mercy in the Genealogy of Jesus
The genealogy of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel reveals profound truths about His identity and mission. Jesus is presented as the «Son of David» and «Son of Abraham,» fulfilling the Jewish hope for a Messiah and extending blessings to all nations (Gn 12:3). This lineage proclaims that Jesus’ mission transcends boundaries, embracing Jews and Gentiles alike.
Matthew highlights five women in this genealogy: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. Their inclusion is striking in a patriarchal society where men typically dominate genealogical records. Each woman’s story involves irregularities or struggles, yet their courage and faith became part of God’s salvific plan. Tamar and Rahab, Canaanites, took bold steps to ensure justice. Ruth, a Moabite widow, exemplified loyalty and faithfulness. Bathsheba endured suffering and betrayal but remained central to God’s purposes. Mary, a young Jewish woman, accepted God’s will with humility despite societal risks.
These women remind us that God’s grace works through imperfect and unexpected circumstances. Their stories challenge us to move beyond rigid interpretations of purity or tradition and recognise God’s ability to bring redemption through unconventional means. In contemporary contexts, this invites us to embrace inclusivity and mercy in our communities and ministries.
In the Catholic Church today, this genealogy calls us to reflect on the richness of diversity within the Body of Christ. As Pope Francis urges, the Church must continue being a “field hospital,” welcoming the marginalised and offering hope. For us in Hong Kong, this may mean standing in solidarity with the vulnerable and trusting in God’s providence amid uncertainties.
Through Jesus, history finds its fullness, and God’s mercy is made manifest. May we, like Mary, respond to God’s call with openness and trust, becoming vessels of His blessings to the world.
«May his name endure forever… and all nations call him blessed» (Ps 72:17).
Introduction
The liturgical readings of today call our attention to Christ in his human reality: human like us in everything – except for sin, clarifies St Paul – a descendant of sinners, who, as Church Fathers stress, are even singled out in Matthew’s family tree of Christ, a man born of a woman, a baby in a crib, a child growing up to manhood, a man walking the roads of Palestine, who could weep and be angry, had friends, had a sense of humor, attended marriage feasts. Indeed, he was fully human, God in human form.
Opening Prayer
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son came among us as one of us,
a human being among other people,
simple, accessible,
yet your human face
and the measure of what a human person is.
Lord, make us discover ourselves in his mirror:
that we are born to be free,
to be unselfish, available, committed.
Free us from our selfishness,
our cowardice and attitudes of conformism,
that we may become a bit
what you want us to be, like your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Liturgy of the Word
General Intercessions
– For the Jewish people, who gave us Jesus our Savior, that God may bless them and give them peace, we pray:
– For people who have erred, that they may not give up on themselves but keep seeking reconciliation with God and neighbor, we pray:
– For all of us, that we may keep growing in humanity in the likeness of Christ, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God our Father,
your Son Jesus Christ, our Savior,
gives himself to us
in the simplicity of a piece of bread
and a cup of wine.
May we learn from him
to give ourselves in all simplicity.
Do not allow us to be resigned
to evil and misfortunes in the world,
but challenge us to be responsible with Jesus
for our brothers and sisters
and with him to exist for others,
today and every day, for ever.
Prayer after Communion
Loving Father,
because Jesus, our Lord and Savior,
became one of us long ago,
we can believe that he is still one of us today,
sharing our destiny, going all the way with us.
Accept us then in your Son as we are:
stumbling and fumbling and plodding,
yet full of good will and hoping
in a future of justice and reconciliation,
for Christ is our Lord for ever.
Blessing
A theme dear to the Church Fathers is that Christ became one of us as a human person to make us children of God and to show us in himself what it means to be a son or daughter of God. May God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
