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Gospel: Matthew 1: 1-17
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar.
Perez became the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab.
Boaz became the father of Obed,
whose mother was Ruth.
Obed became the father of Jesse,
Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asaph.
Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah became the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amos,
Amos the father of Josiah.
Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the Babylonian exile.
After the Babylonian exile,
Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.
Abiud became the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok.
Zadok became the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar became the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
Thus the total number of generations
from Abraham to David
is fourteen generations;
from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;
from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,
fourteen generations.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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There are some pretty scandalous characters mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus – everyone from fools, liars, and con artists, to adulterers, murderers, and prostitutes!
After listing 42 generations from our own family tree, we might find a bad apple or two, as well.
But this is Jesus’ family tree, not ours.
It would seem God would’ve chosen only men and women of honor – not sinners – to prepare the way for his Son.
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But he didn’t.
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And herein lies a lesson for us.
People often lead messy lives. We make mistakes. We write pages that we wish we could tear out, just like some listed in Jesus’ family tree.
Still, God used them to prepare the way for his Son’s first coming.
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Similarly, God uses saints and sinners alike to prepare the way for his Son’s second coming.
We don’t have to be perfect to be instruments of God’s grace in the world. We must simply be willing.
As we continue through this season of Advent, how might we be instruments of grace?
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Perhaps we can reach out to the lonely; give a gift; put a smile on someone’s face.
Small gestures that warm the heart, preparing us to receive Christ at Christmas.
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