Friends,
today’s Gospel records the genealogy of Jesus. It was desperately
important for Matthew to show that Jesus didn’t just appear out of the
blue. Rather, he came out of a rich, densely-textured history. St.
Irenaeus tells us that the Incarnation had been taking place over a long
period of time, God gradually accustoming himself to the human race.
Look
at this long line of characters: saints, sinners, cheats, prostitutes,
murderers, poets, kings, insiders and outsiders—all leading to the
Christ. Of course, King David is mentioned. He was, without doubt, a
great figure, the king who united the nation. But he was also adulterer
and a murderer.
From
this long line of great, not-so-great, prominent, obscure, saints,
sinners, kings and paupers came “Jesus who is called the Messiah.” God
became one of us, in all of our grace and embarrassment, in all of our
beauty and ordinariness. God had a series of human ancestors, and like
most families, they were kind of a mixed bag. And what good news this is
for us! It means that God can bring the Christ to birth even in people
like us.
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