Gospel: Luke 6:20-26
Then, looking at his disciples, Jesus said, “Fortunate are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Fortunate are you, who are hungry now,
for you will be filled. Fortunate are you, who weep now, for you will laugh. Fortunate are you, when people hate you,
when they reject you and insult you and number you among criminals, because of the Son of Man.

Gospel: Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23
This is the account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (their mother was Tamar), Perez was the father of Hezron,
and Hezron of Aram. Aram was the father of Aminadab, Aminadab of Nahshon, Nah shon of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz.
His mother was Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed. His mother was Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David, the king.
David was the father of Solomon. His mother had been Uriah’s wife. Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Then came the kings: Abijah,
Asaph, Jehoshaphat, Joram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah.
Josiah was the father of Jechoni-ah and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon. After the deportation to Babylon,
Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel and Salathiel of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud, Abiud of Eliakim, and Eliakim of Azor.
Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, and Akim the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar of Matthan,
and Matthan of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus who is called the Christ—the Messiah.
This is how Jesus Christ was born: Mary his mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together,
she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy.
He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to disgrace her. While he was pondering over this,
an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife.
She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a son. You shall call him ‘Jesus’ for he will save his people from their sins.”
All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: The virgin will conceive and bear a son,
and he will be called Emmanuel, which means: God-with us.

REFLECTION:
The Gospel traces the roots of Jesus back to Abraham. This connects Him to the bloodline of God’s chosen people.
But, Jesus is not really connected to the line of Abraham by blood. Joseph, by way of adoption,
made Him legitimate—rightly belonging to the bloodline. In a deeper sense, however, it is not Jesus who is ­legitimated by this ancestral trace.
Rather, it is the entire line of Abraham that is re-claimed by Jesus back to God the Father.
The Blessed Virgin Mary is actually the key link to this legitimation.
The Birth of our Blessed Mother ini­tiates the reclamation of the entire humanity not just to the line of Abraham or Adam,
but to the line of God the Father. Jesus, through Mary, wi­dens the ancestral line ma­king all of us children of God.
The birth of Mary is actually the birth or re-birth of all people.

© Copyright Bible Diary 2020

Gospel: Luke 12:8-12
I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before people, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God.
But the one who denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. There will be pardon for the one who criticizes the Son of Man,
but there will be no pardon for the one who slanders the Holy Spirit. When you are brought before the synagogues, and before go­vernors and rulers,
don’t worry about how you will defend yourself, or what to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you have to say.”

Gospel: Luke 12:1-7
Meanwhile, such a numerous crowd had gathered that they crushed one another.
Then Jesus spoke to his disciples in this way, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees,
which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered that will not be uncovered; or hidden, that will not be made known.
Whatever you have said in darkness will be heard in daylight, and what you have whispered in hidden places, will be proclaimed from housetops.

Gospel: Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23
This is the account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (their mother was Tamar), Perez was the father of Hezron,
and Hezron of Aram. Aram was the father of Aminadab, Aminadab of Nahshon, Nah shon of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz.

Gospel: Luke 11:47-54
A curse is on you, for you build monuments to the prophets your ancestors killed.
So you approve and agree with what your ancestors did. Is it not so? They got rid of the prophets,
and you build monuments to them! For that reason the wisdom of God also said:
I will send prophets and apostles and these people will kill and persecute some of them.

Gospel: Luke 11:42-46
A curse is on you, Pharisees! To the temple you give a tenth of all, including mint and rue and other herbs,
but you neglect justice and the love of God. These ought to be practiced, without neglecting the other obligations.
A curse is on you, Pharisees, for you love the best seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplace.
A curse is on you, for you are like tombstones of the dead which can hardly be seen; people don’t notice them,

Gospel: Luke 4:16-30
When Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, as he usually did.
He stood up to read, and they handed him the book of the prophet Isaiah.
Jesus then unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.

Gospel: Luke 6:6-11
On another Sabbath, Jesus entered the synagogue and began teaching. There was a man with a paralyzed right hand,
and the teachers of the law and the Pharisees watched him: Would Jesus heal the man on the Sabbath? If he did,
they could accuse him. But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to the man, “Get up, and stand in the middle.”

Gospel: Luke 11:37-41
As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to have a meal with him. So he went and sat at table.
The Pharisee then wondered why Jesus did not first wash his hands before dinner. But the Lord said to him,
“So then, you Pharisees, you clean the outside of the cup and the dish,
but inside yourselves you are full of greed and evil. Fools! He who made the outside, also made the inside.