Gospel Reading Matthew (1:1-17) 3:1-6
1An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of
Abraham.
2Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, 4and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6and Jesse the father of King David.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
17So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
3:1In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'” 4Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, 6and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
It’s worth reading through Jesus’ family tree so that we can remember his less than noteworthy ancestors. Although Jesus boasts patriarchs and kings among his forefathers, the family has plenty of black sheep, too. And, just as different people appear, so too do they appear in different times. Fourteen generations divide each of the groupings (six groups of seven, so that the seventh, inaugurated by Jesus, will manifest God’s completion of Israel). The first set begins with Abraham and ends with David—God’s promise culminating in a kingdom (though not without the struggle of slavery first). The second set traces the decline of Israel until the time of exile. The last set hints at restoration as it culminates in Jesus. The point is that there are black hats and white hats, all living in good times and bad. But t doesn’t matter whether the time is good or bad—eventually it comes to fruition in the work of the savior, who redeems it all.
Our time is in your hands, loving God. Use it as you will, to show your grace, to share your love, to spread your hope, until Christ comes again. Amen.
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