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Gospel: Matthew 1:18-23
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means “God is with us.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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In the longer version of today’s Gospel, Matthew traces the genealogy of Jesus back to Abraham. Studying Christ’s family tree reveals some interesting insights about who God is and how God acts in the world.
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First, Matthew counts back forty-two generations – some 2,000 years – to demonstrate that God acts in history. Jesus did not strut onto the world stage as an unimpressive newcomer; his birth was the fruit of long-awaited anticipation.
And, mysteriously, God did not rely solely upon royalty or saints to prepare his way; there are also a few bad apples, including prostitutes and murderers!
Perhaps they serve as a reminder that, in spite of leading messy lives, God can use anyone to accomplish his will.
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Secondly, God is a God of inclusion.
Five of the people Matthew includes in Christ’s genealogy are women. Four of them are Gentiles. From the beginning, God relied upon both men and women, Jews and Gentiles, to fulfill his plans.
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Third, God is a God of surprises.
Consider the last person mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy aside from Mary: Joseph. The Gospel tells us that he was a “righteous” man, devoted to God and ethical living.
Discovering his fiancée was pregnant with a child that wasn’t his was so scandalous that God literally had to send an angel to Joseph in a dream to convince him that Mary was telling the truth.
Yet even then, if Joseph accepted what had happened, he’d have to throw away his orderly, principled understanding of life and embrace a divine mess. Thankfully, he did.
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So, what might the history of Christ’s family tree mean for us?
Just as God relied upon a vast array of characters to prepare the way for his first coming, so he can use anyone to prepare the way for his second.
In the words of John the Baptist, may we, “Make straight his paths.”
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Image credits: (1) Orthodox Christianity (2) Bartolome Esteban Perez Murillo, Saint Joseph with the Child Jesus (3) Church of the Living Word