One final (belated!) reflection as we prepare to celebrate this joyous feast of Christmas! Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/121811.cfm.
"Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever" (2 Sam 7:16). You can't "out-give" God - as David surely realized when he expressed his desire to build a house for God and was told instead that God would turn David's line (bayit, "house" in Hebrew) into an everlasting royal dynasty. True to his word, as long as there is a king in Judah that king is a descendant of David. Fourteen generations later the Babylonian exile strikes a devastating - but not fatal - blow to the kingdom and especially to the royal line. When the exiles are allowed to return and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple under king Cyrus of Persia they do so under the leadership of Zerubbabel, a descendant of David. At this point the Davidic line goes underground, so to speak, and the identity of the heir to the throne is no longer public knowledge - or at least it is no longer recorded in Scripture. So the next time you are sitting in Mass listening to the beginning of the gospel of Matthew (this very Christmas Eve, if you get the long version of the gospel reading) and the priest or deacon is rattling off that list of tongue-twisting names, imagine the shock and excitement of a first century Jew hearing that genealogy: "And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel" - so far so good, this is well-known history - "and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim..." (Matt 1:12-13 RSV). What?! God really is faithful - the line continued, and there is no longer any question who the rightful ruler of Israel is: "and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ" (Matt 1:16).
That's all well and good, you might say, and it's nice to know that those genealogies aren't included just to trip Father up while he's proclaiming the gospel - but Joseph is only Jesus' foster father, and so shouldn't we be more concerned with Mary's genealogy if we're going to try to establish Jesus as the fulfillment of this prophecy to David in 2 Samuel 7? There is a tradition that Mary is also of the royal line, but although Joseph is not Jesus' biological father his genealogy is of primary importance in this case. Joseph is the legal heir of the Davidic throne, as evidenced by the genealogy in Matthew 1, and Jesus is his legal son - therefore Jesus is the legal heir of the throne, regardless of Mary's lineage.
This beautiful fulfillment of the promise to David in Christ Jesus is part of the "revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested through the prophetic writings" to which St. Paul refers at the end of his letter to the Romans (16:25-26).
All of this explains how the angel Gabriel is able to tell Mary that Jesus will receive "the throne of David his father" in this Sunday's gospel (Luke 1:32). As the mother of the new king, Mary holds the royal office of giberah, or Queen Mother. Gabriel honors her in his greeting and calls her κεχαριτωμενη (kecharitomene) in the Greek; the RSV and NAB translate this as "full of grace," but the verb tense is past perfect, which makes the literal translation "one who has been and continues to be graced." This verse provides an important foundation for the dogma of the Immaculate Conception: that Mary was conceived without original sin and remained sinless throughout her life (by the power of God and the saving sacrifice of Christ working back in history, not by her own merit - an important distinction!).
Another key Marian doctrine with a foundation in this passage is the doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity. The Church teaches that Mary remained a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Christ. Mary herself gives us a clue concerning this in her reply to Gabriel's announcement that she would have a son. Mary responds, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?" (Luke 1:34). St. Luke has already told us that Mary is betrothed to Joseph (1:27). Our modern concept of betrothal is that of an engagement: a plan to marry, but not yet a marriage. However, in the first century Jewish world marriage was a two-step process. The first step was betrothal, which was essentially the marriage without the wife going to live in her husband's home. For a husband and wife to consummate their marriage during this period may have been looked down upon, but it would not have been unheard of. For Gabriel to tell an engaged woman that she would bear a son at some point in the future would not have been surprising; to give the same message to a woman who was essentially already married should not have elicited a response of "how can this be?" Mary's response only makes sense if she was not planning on having relations with her husband. This supports the tradition that Mary had made a vow of perpetual virginity.
This passage also echoes the theme of God's house in the language about the Holy Spirit overshadowing Mary - this is the same language used when God's presence descends on the Tabernacle in the wilderness and on the Temple in Jerusalem. This points to Mary as the new Ark of the Covenant. The original Ark contained a jar of manna (bread from heaven), the tablets of the law (God's word), and Aaron's budding staff (priestly authority). For nine months Mary carried in her womb the true Bread come down from heaven, the incarnate Word, and the new and eternal High Priest.
To end I'll leave you with the last verse of my new favorite Advent/Christmas song, A Messenger to Mary Came (full lyrics here: http://www.wyomingcatholiccollege.com/Portals/0/Member_Christmas2.pdf, I also highly recommend the CD!):
With that, the angel parted thence
And Mary wondered in her heart;
'As God in his benevolence
Has chosen me to play this part,
So let me follow undeterred
According to the Father's word,
And show him right obedience.'
Have a merry, blessed Christmas!!!
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