O Sapientia, O Wisdom

~~~ Genesis 49:2, 8-10 ~~~ Psalm 72 ~~~ Matthew 1:1-17 ~~~

O Come, O Come Emmanuel!

The last seven days of Advent the church meditates on 

seven short verses called the O Antiphons.

In the first, O Sapientia, we are taken into the recesses

 of eternity to address Wisdom, the Word of God.

We hear the proclamation of the genealogy of Jesus.

Wisdom comes down to us from the time of creation.

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,

the son of David, the son of Abraham.

In effect we see that Jesus has the required credentials

 to be the Messiah.

He is born into the lineage

 spoken by the prophets.

O Wisdom of our God Most High,

guiding creation with power and love:

come to teach us the path of knowledge!

Part of the Vesper Prayers, evening prayer,
is the beautiful words of the Magnificat.
Beginning this evening the antiphons
will be the the O Antiphons.
These antiphons surround Mary's words
of accepting her roll in God's salvation plan.

Each O Antiphon heralds
  the coming of the Messiah with increasing urgency.

We longingly await the coming of the Lord.

In the Gospel of Matthew we are reminded
today of the humanity of Jesus.

His ancestry can be traced back for fourteen generations
just as the prophets proclaimed.

Each of theses antiphons links back
to the prophecy of Isaiah of the coming of the Messiah.

Can you trace your genealogy
back for that many generations? 

We have come to value our own family tree.

In the time of Jesus your lineage
 was very important for many reasons.

Jesus took on humanity while retaining his divinity.
Jesus is the second person of the
Most Holy Trinity.

Come, O Wisdom,
teach us your ways...
Bless us with your understanding.

Peace
JOY
to the World!