So let's talk about today's readings 9/8/09

[cheeto1]

(Happy Birthday Mary!)

September 8, 2009

Reading 1
Mi 5:1-4a or Rom 8:28-30

The LORD says:
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah,
too small to be among the clans of Judah,
From you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;
Whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.
(Therefore the Lord will give them up, 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.)
He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock
by the strength of the LORD,
in the majestic name of the LORD, his God;
And they shall remain, for now his greatness
shall reach to the ends of the earth;
he shall be peace. or
Brothers and sisters:
We know that all things work for good for those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose.
For those he foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son,
so that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers.
And those he predestined he also called;
and those he called he also justified;
and those he justified he also glorified.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 13:6ab, 6c

R. (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.

Gospel
Mt 1:1-16, 18-23 or 1:18-23

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 brothers
at 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.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
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.
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.”
or
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.”

 

[cheeto1]

“The LORD says:
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah…”
–Notice that word “Ephrathah” is almost identical to the word Jesus used
yesterday to say “Be opened!” to the deaf man.

Wonder why they don’t give us the geneology of Mary?
Wonder why Jesus was named Jesus instead of Emmanuel?
Wonder why God only spoke to Mary once, and after that moved on to Joseph?

 

[CHRISTINE77]

“The LORD says:
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah…”
–Notice that word “Ephrathah” is almost identical to the word Jesus used
yesterday to say “Be opened!” to the deaf man.

Wonder why they don’t give us the geneology of Mary?
Wonder why Jesus was named Jesus instead of Emmanuel?
Wonder why God only spoke to Mary once, and after that moved on to Joseph?

That’s interesting about Bethlehem-Ephrathah and what Jesus said to the deaf/mute man. I wonder if it is a true correlation?

I was explained to me once that Emmanuel is more of a descriptive moniker rather than a name, such as Babe Ruth was aka Sultan of Swat, in the same way, Jesus is aka Emmanuel or “God with us”.

I would be interested to know Mary’s geneology too, although it’s interesting the women that were in Joseph’s geneology (Tamar, Bathsheba, Ruth and Rahab - basically foreigners, prostitutes and/or concubines - not the most upstanding of Jewish women!!)

 

[Crumpy]

My knowledge and insight into this text about “Immanuel” is about as much as a small anthill. But, the verse bothers me. I’ve never heard a good explanation for this, either.

But, as a hypothesis (not a fact), I’m thinking that the phrase is meant to imply that when this child is born, that somebody or everybody is supposed to declare that the birth of that child indicates that “God is with us” – perhaps what we might today say, God is on our side.

It bothers me that this doesn’t seem to bother Matthew. It’s like the ancient readers of Matthew’s gospel would understand what he was saying, and not trip on it like it was part of a non sequiter.

Which is all to say, perhaps there is an idiom here that we cannot recognize and that the translators have left for us to decipher.

 

[cheeto1]

…
Which is all to say, perhaps there is an idiom here that we cannot recognize and that the translators have left for us to decipher.

You mean something only Jews would know?