ADVENT Gospel for Tuesday, December 17 Fourth Week of Advent
Matthew 1:1-17
1 This is the genealogy[a] of Jesus the Messiah[b] the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
4 Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
6 and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
9 Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12 After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,
Abihud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
14 Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Elihud,
15 Elihud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.
17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.
REFLECTION
In preparation for our Lord’s coming how are we to understand or react to a simple list of his human ancestry?
First with some honest realization that each of the people that are in this list are real people, with real lives, successes, failures and faults. Just like us!
Some great, well-known names who were kings and leaders as well as lesser-known servants, prostitutes and followers. Certainly, a list that may be very similar to one of our own genealogies, if we were to have the research from popular websites.
But secondly, the special uniqueness and design that is shown by patterns [14 Generations} that witness to the unmistakable direction and guidance from the hand of the Heavenly Father. Jesus’s spiritual ancestor.
What did the people in Jesus’s human ancestry have in common? They were “available and open” and surrendered to the influence of God in their lives. They may not have been individually famous, or each have a story or significant accomplishment. But by being open to the Lord, and the influence of the Holy Spirit, they became a part of the unmistakably directed plan of salvation.
Beginning this advent season, and each day for the rest of our human lives, we also can surrender ourselves and be “open and available” for His purposes. We may or may not make a name, or have any historic difference, or even know where we fit in. Our faith that God is in control, and He loves us, Jesus came to be with us “Emanuel”, to save and give us hope that our name will also be on a list, according to His directed plan.
Start your name on the list by saying “Yes I am yours today”
Jim Boyd