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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 we wish we could erase, just like some of those listed in Jesus’ family tree.
Though imperfect, God still used them to prepare the way for his Son’s first coming.
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Similarly, God can use anyone to prepare the way for his Son’s second coming.
We don’t have to be perfect to be instruments of God’s grace. We only need to be willing.
As we reach the end of this season of Advent, how have we been instruments of God’s grace? How might we continue to be today?
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Do some small gesture of love, and you will prepare the way for Christ.
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Image credits: (1) tektonministries.org (2) Plain Truth Ministries (3) Assumption Church DC