Now you know why priests have to go to school so long—to
pronounce a list of names like this!
I
don’t often do show-and-tell during the homily, but here is something I keep in
my office I would like you to see [Jesus’ family tree all the way from Adam and
Eve].
We
might be surprised to hear such a list in a Gospel in the New Testament. More than this, these are the very
first words in the Gospel according to Matthew! Matthew, writing to a Jewish audience, appeals to their
emphasis on such a list.
The Old Testament especially
features genealogies. These names
listed more than people, but showed how their religious history passed from one
generation to the next. On this
poster you can see an unbroken line from Adam to Jesus—a sign of God’s fidelity
through the generations. Matthew
gives three cycles of fourteen generations, showing that God’s hand was
directly involved in Israel’s history.
Something else is pretty cool about
the genealogy of Matthew. In
ancient history genealogies were structured on males—sorry, ladies, this is
just how it was. Yet in Matthew’s
account four women are included—Tamar, Rahab and Ruth in the Old
Testament. Notable is Rahab’s
faith (she let the Israelite spies into the Promised Land, knowing that God
would be faithful in His promises) and Ruth’s passion (another foreigner who
converted to Judaism and was King David’s great-grandmother).
The last woman: Mary. As the New Eve she comes after many
generations and is the last name on this list before Jesus Christ himself.
Through approaching these
genealogies more closely we see God’s providence in history and the extent to
which he prepared for Jesus.
Buckle up! Christmas is
coming!
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