The Institute for Christian Formation
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Monday of the Third Week of Advent
December 15, 2014
We are now in the Third Week of Advent, and our celebration of Christmas begins in just ten days! Today’s readings can be accessed here. Our First Reading, from the Book of Numbers, concludes with these words, “A star shall advance from Jacob, and a staff shall rise from Israel.” (Numbers 24:17). Jesus Christ, the Messiah, will be the star that will arise out of the line of Jacob. In Matthew’s Gospel, it is the Star of Bethlehem that revealed the birth of Jesus to the Magi and led them to the manger.
Today is a good day to focus a bit on the Patriarch Jacob. How much do you remember about him from Scripture? His story begins with his birth, which is found in Genesis, chapter 25. We often refer to the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham. You might recall stories of Jacob’s ladder and Jacob wrestling with the angel. Jacob was also called Israel. He became the father of twelve sons, who, in turn, became the namesakes of the twelve tribes of Israel. (One of his sons was Joseph, who had a coat of many colors!)
Take some time today to page through the book of Genesis, reading some of the stories about Jacob. If you are working on a Jesse Tree in your home or classroom, take some time today with children to review any ornaments you have that represent Jacob and others in his family tree. Read the first section of the genealogy of Jesus from the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. Help children situate Jacob in this linage.
Refer again to today’s First Reading, and talk about the star that will arise from the line of Jacob. Jesus is that star.
As a project for this last half of Advent, help children create a Book of Christmas Feasts, which they can present to someone in their “family tree” as a Christmas gift during the upcoming Christmas Season. Focus on the symbol of the star. Using the template below as a guide (you can download this here), invite children to colorfully decorate the page with an image for each of the five major feasts of the Christmas Season. This page will serve as the front cover of their book. For the inside page of the book, let the children be creative. They could create a page for each of the five major feasts. Perhaps they want to include family tree pages – Jesus’ family tree and their family tree.
When you light your Advent Wreath this evening, sing an Advent hymn – perhaps “Creator of the Stars of Night” – and conclude with hot chocolate and star-shaped cookies! And remember in a special way the Patriarch Jacob, from whom the star – Jesus – advanced!
Patriarch Jacob
Iconographer:
Theophanes the Cretan
1545
Stavronikita Monastery,
Chapel of St. Nicholas, Greece
