The Lord Has Done A Great Thing for Us

12-20-2020Weekly Reflection

The prophecy of Nathan about David became the basis for Israel’s expectation that the Messiah will come from the royal family of David, making Him the Son of David. The offspring of David is both individual and collective. First, it refers to his direct descendant (individual) Solomon, who eventually built the temple. And second, as a dynasty, which refers to the series of kings who occupied the throne of David.

To God alone be the Glory, that should be the end and fulfillment of this life. God alone gives us strength and power through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Since the beginning, God decreed the salvation of man. For a long time: the fulfillment of this decree is hidden. Today, God reveals the mystery in Jesus Christ, the Son of God of the line of David. In context, the liturgy of the Word this Sunday, this mystery applies to the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. With the Incarnation, the plan of God for salvation is now in motion.

The Gospel reveals the mystery of human salvation through the Incarnation of the GodMan, Jesus Christ. The Annunciation shows the mystery of the plan of God for the salvation of man. The consent of Mary (to be the mother of the savior) plays a vital role in this mystery. The power of the Holy Spirit brings about the fulfillment of the greatest mystery and miracle in human history: God made flesh; God made Man. The stress lies in the creative act of the Holy Spirit. So that, the virgin birth is not a theological statement of Christ’s divinity but to establish the historicity of the event. The point here is the fact that the Holy Spirit could not complete the work without the consent of Mary.

Thanksgiving to God happens when man realizes how much he/she is a recipient of God’s boundless blessings and the many signs of His love. These are the blessings of family, friends, material wealth, and His unlimited mercy. These evoke in man a feeling of gratitude and acts to show this to God by wanting to do something in return. The yearning to do something in return is what King David wanted in the 1st reading. He wants to build a house for God, a Temple.

In the eyes of men, David’s desire is commendable, but to God, no. God rejected David’s desire to build Him a Temple. He is the God of the universe but is content with living in a simple tent. Because in the plan of God, it is not David who will build the Temple for Him, or it is not David who will do something great for the Lord, but it is the Lord who has something much more for David. The Lord promises David a great name, a steady and safe dwelling for the people of God, and a House (Temple). As a result, David can only bow down in praise and gratitude for the things God promises to him.

Today, in the Gospel, the promise to David is fulfilled in the Annunciation. The fulfillment of this is not through a king, or someone mighty and powerful, but through a lowly handmaid from Nazareth, the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Lord promises David a great name, an offspring, and an everlasting kingdom, the angel Gabriel says to Mary: Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great, and He will be called the Son of the Most-High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of David his Father, and He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of His Kingdom, there will be no end. (Lk. 1:33-34)