The Genealogy of Jesus
Three groups of fourteen names that are difficult to pronounce and even challenging to remember who they are. This is Jesus’ genealogy. Realizing that I would be proclaiming this reading several times each year I finally made the effort to look up each name and practiced saying it until I felt somewhat comfortable. Then the desire to know who these people were challenged me to go back into the books and discover what they did. And surprisingly much was not very good. They were all human and made many mistakes along the way. Talk about a dysfunctional and irregular family tree, it all provides a prelude to the irregular way of Jesus coming to earth.
Most of the leaders listed drifted away from God and ended up worshipping idols. God would send prophets and judges to guide the people back and after several generations they would come back to the faith only to fail again. Even the great leaders such as King David fell to the temptations of sin when he took Bathsheba as his wife and killed her husband. Bathsheba is one of four women listed in the genealogy. Tamar’s husband died so she tricked her father-in-law to father a son through her. Rahab was a prostitute who protected the Hebrew scouts when they first came to the land of Israel. Ruth was a Moabite who became Boaz’ wife. Such a crazy mixed up family. Into all this mess, with us with our messy families, the words of the responsorial psalm offer the greatest hope. “Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.” We live in the time of Jesus. Seek the justice of the Lord and we will find peace.
May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen