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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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Over the last number of years, many have used DNA test kits – like 23andMe – to learn more about their ancestry. Such advanced science didn’t exist at the time of Christ. Rather, people traced their history orally.
In today’s Gospel, Matthew traces the lineage of Jesus Christ all the way back to Abraham, who lived thousands of years before him in order to teach us several important lessons.
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First, 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 – for at least 42 generations, dating back to Abraham.
And through his Spirit, God continues acting in our world, even in our own lives today.
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Secondly, God is a God of inclusion.
Five of the people named in the genealogy of Jesus are women. All of them, with the exception of Mary, are Gentiles, not Jews.
Thus, from the beginning, God’s plan of salvation included men and women, Jews and Gentiles. The Lord still relies upon people of every race and tongue to accomplish his will today.
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Finally, God works through ordinary, even sinful, people.
Several of those listed in Christ’s genealogy were sketchy characters – from con artists to prostitutes. They remind us that we do not need to be perfect in order to be instruments of grace.
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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 any one of us to prepare the way for his second.
In the words of John the Baptist, “Prepare the way of the Lord, and make straight his paths.”
May we be agents of God’s peace today.
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Image credits: (1) Campus Ministry at the University of Saint Mary (2) Dreamstime.com (3) One Family Under God, WordPress