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January 1, 2021. In 2 Samuel 7, God promises to King David through the prophet Nathan that the Messiah would come from King David’s blood line. This is very important because King David was, and still is, known as the greatest King in the history of Israel. King David is the one who gathered the chosen people together and made them a great nation that other kings feared. King David was known for his leadership, strength, and deep faith. Even in the midst of his own sinfulness, he continued going to God in prayer and supplication before his people. King David was a great witness to humility, hope, faith, and love.
So, when God promises that the Messiah, the one to make Israel the greatest nation and people, will come from the blood line of King David, the Israelites knew they would be ok. They trusted God and they loved King David. David’s son, Saul, continued the integrity and trust of the blood line by building the Temple in Jerusalem. A Messiah wasn’t needed by the people until the Babylonian Exile (roughly 587-516BC), this is when they awaited the promised Messiah and unfortunately after the 70-year exile life didn’t get any better for the Israelites as they would continue to be conquered over and over again. The Romans would be in charge when the Messiah, Jesus Christ, was born of the Virgin Mary.
What were the Israelites looking for in the Messiah? Besides being in the blood line of King David (which they thought was lost during the exile) the Israelites were expecting someone who would gather the twelve tribes of Israel, cleanse the Temple, deal with the enemies of Israel, and rule as King. They were expecting another warrior and leader like King David, someone to wage war against their enemies and unite the people. We all know that Jesus is the Messiah, but Jesus didn’t present Himself the way people were expecting Him to.
Jesus did more than gather the twelve tribes of Israel, Jesus did what the prophets foretold during and after their exile, Jesus gathered all nations to come and worship God. Jesus came for more than Israel; Jesus came to save the whole world! Jesus didn’t cleanse the physical Temple in Jerusalem, but He did cleanse the living temple of His body from sin and death: that would be us, the Body of Christ. We are the living temples where God dwells after Baptism. Jesus also dealt with the Enemy, the devil, by conquering death and saving us from sin. Finally, Jesus is our leader, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, and Healer of souls. Jesus did everything that the Messiah was supposed to do and more.
Many Israelites were upset that Jesus didn’t look or act the way that they were expecting in the Messiah, which is one of the reasons He was put to death. Many Israelites refused to believe He is the Messiah because they couldn’t open their minds or hearts to see the world as God sees the world. Friends, this problem is not an ancient one that has gone away. Many people today still can’t recognize Jesus in their midst. Catholics don’t recognize Jesus in the Eucharist, in the poor, in their neighbor, their enemy, or even in themselves. We can’t be like the Israelites who put the Messiah to death because we couldn’t recognize Him. During these weeks of Advent, let’s work hard to open our hearts and minds to recognize Jesus in our midst. Begin with the Eucharist and then once the Eucharist heals our hearts, we can begin seeing Christ in our neighbor, the poor, and our enemies.
