Daily Catholic Lectio. Wed, 18 December ’24. O Lord, come!

Daily Catholic Lectio

Wed, 18 December ‘24

Advent Weekdays

Jeremiah 23:5-8. Matthew 1:18-24

O Lord, come!

From December 17 to 24, we pray with ‘O Antiphons’ in the liturgy. According to the tradition that dates to the fourth century, each day during this week, a Messianic title is called upon and prayed. When we read the seven titles from right to left, it reads ‘ERO CRAS’ in Latin (‘I am coming’ in English). Our calling is answered by God. We call him, and he comes to us. On December 17, the O Antiphon is ‘O Wisdom (‘Sapientia’ in Latin), come!’

Today, on the second day, we pray, ‘O Adonai (in English, ‘Lord’), come!’

In the Old Testament, there are different ‘El’ and ‘YHWH’ epithets used to refer to the God of Israel: ‘El-Rehoi,’ ‘Yahweh Yireh,’ ‘Yahweh Nissi,’ ‘El Shaddai.’ However, the people of Israel called their God ‘Elohim’ (in English, ‘gods’) and ‘YHWH’ (in English, ‘Lord’). Elohim is the common noun, while YHWH is the proper noun. As it was told by God that people should not use the name of the Lord in vain, the Israelites chose to replace ‘YHWH’ with ‘FOUR lettered word’ or ‘Adonai.’ They would write it as ‘YHWH’, but would read it as ‘NAME’ (‘shem’ in Hebrew), or as Adonai.’ When the vowels of ‘Adonai’ are read with ‘YHWH’, we get the word ‘YaHoWaH’ (sounds in your ear, ‘Jehovah witness’!?)

In an apocryphal writing, The Gospel of Thomas, Jesus reveals himself to Thomas as ‘Lord.’ That is why in John, when Thomas professes his faith, he cries, ‘My God, My Lord’ (cf. Jn 20:28). The word that the people of Israel used to call their God, ‘Lord’, we use to call Jesus, ‘kyrios’ (in Greek). ‘Kyrios’ could be rendered as ‘Lord,’ ‘Master,’ and ‘Sir.’ This was one of the first Christological titles used for Jesus in the Early Church creedal statements. Paul explicitly uses this title in Phil 2:11: “Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

In the first reading (cf. Jer 23:5-8), Jeremiah prophesies about the coming of the days. This text is referred to as a Messianic pronouncement. Jeremiah uses wordplay here. ‘Zedekiah’ was the ruler of Judah when the people of Israel were deported to Babylonia. ‘Zedekiah’ means ‘the Lord’s righteousness.’ The king Zedekiah, contrary to his name, did, like his fathers, what was righteous for him. Now, the Lord announces that he will make for David a righteous branch. In the Messianic reading, this refers to Jesus. The Lord proposes a new name for himself, i.e., ‘YHWH ZiDKEnu’ (in English, ‘the Lord is our righteousness’). This title gives comfort to the people of Israel in exile.

The gospel reading brings before us the announcement of the birth of Jesus to Joseph. The word ‘Lord’ appears three times in the narrative: ‘an angel of the Lord appeared,’ ‘to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet,’ and ‘he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.’ Joseph is introduced as a ‘righteous man’. Joseph, in his righteousness, wanted to dismiss Mary quietly, but God, in his righteousness, wanted him to accept her. Joseph sets aside his righteousness and embraces God’s righteousness. Reflecting on this text, Pope Francis writes in Patris Corde (2020), “In Joseph’s life, nothing happened according to his will, but he accepted everything without a murmur.’

What are the lessons for us?

(a) The righteousness of the king (Zedekiah) drives people to slavery, while the righteousness of the Lord grants them liberty. Like Joseph, we need to set aside our master plan and embrace the Master’s plan. The Lord’s righteousness is greater than ours.

(b) If I call Jesus ‘my Lord,’ I must allow him to rule over me; I must surrender to him totally. Otherwise, there will be a gap between what I say and what I do.

Let our prayer today be:

“O Adonai (Exod 3:14)

and Ruler of the House of Israel (Matt 2:6; Micah 5:1; 2 Sam 5:2),

You appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush (Exod 3:2)

and on Mount Sinai gave him Your Law (Exod 20).”

* Come, and with an outstretched arm, redeem us (Jeremiah 32:21).

Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi

Archdiocese of Madurai

Missionary of Mercy