Monday of the
Third Week of Advent
(Jeremiah 23:5-8; Matthew 1:18-25)
The elderly person had become wise. She wanted to confess again the worst sins of
her life along with a few current venial ones.
She mentioned the sins specifically and by number. She knew that her time was limited -- perhaps
months, not likely many years. She was
preparing to meet the Lord. The gospel
today tells us that accepting people like her is exactly Jesus’ mission.
In the first reading Jeremiah says that God will
establish a righteous king who will call Israel from their exile. The prophet has Babylon in mind, but the name
of that city should be taken as a metaphor for all iniquity and sin. Jeremiah is saying that the king will bring
justification to God’s people for their sins so that they may re-enter the
Promised Land. Matthew in turn describes
the son of Mary, whom Joseph shall raise, as that righteous king. The son will have a royal lineage through
Joseph. His very name Jesus meaning the Lord Saves will reveal his mission of saving his subjects from the
deadliness of their sins.
We celebrate Jesus’s birth to remind ourselves that he
has come to take away our sins. This is
not a matter of “one size fits all.” We
must recognize the wrong that we have done and ask God’s mercy. But this is all that we do along with having a
firm intention not to sin again. He will
do the rest for us. As king Jesus has
the power to make our eternal glory a reality.
