When your days have been completed and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, sprung from your loins, and I will establish his kingdom. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom are firm forever before me; your throne shall be firmly established forever. (2 Samuel 7:12, 14a, 16 NABRE)
These are God's words spoken to King David through the prophet Nathan. In context, this is called the Dynastic Oracle. The message is prompted by David’s intention to build a house (i.e., a temple) for the Lord, like David’s own house (i.e., palace) of cedar. David is told, in effect, not to bother building a house for the Lord; rather, the Lord will make a house for him—a dynasty, the House of David. Not only will he have descendants who will sit upon the throne of Israel, their rule will last forever. The oracle establishes the Davidic king as standing in relationship to the Lord as a son to a father. The Dynastic Oracle is the basis for Jewish expectations of an anointed king, son of David.*
Lord Jesus, you came to us through the House of David, yet you were born, hidden away in poverty, utterly vulnerable. With your birth, God made the divine helplessness very clear to us, for a human infant is totally dependent on the loving response of other people.* Thank you, Lord, for my free will and for making yourself vulnerable to my choice to love you. I do chose to love you, each day.
Today, I will thank God for my free will, and the opportunity to choose to serve him.
Saint Francis, who created the first Christmas crib in the year 1223 at Greccio, Italy, pray for us.
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