Gospel of Matthew Chap 1 vs. 1-16.18-23
Roll of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of
Abraham: Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, Jacob fathered Judah and
his brothers, Judah fathered Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez
fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab
fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz, whose mother
was Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed fathered Jesse; and
Jesse fathered King David.
David fathered Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, Abijah fathered Asa, Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, Joram fathered Uzziah, Uzziah fathered Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, Ahaz fathered Hezekiah, Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, Amon fathered Josiah; and Josiah fathered Jechoniah and his brothers. Then the deportation toBabylon took place.
After the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah fathered Shealtiel, Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel fathered Abiud, Abiud fathered Eliakim, Eliakim fathered Azor, Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, Achim fathered Eliud, Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, Matthan fathered Jacob; and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.
This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being an upright man and wanting to spare her disgrace, decided to divorce her informally.
He had made up his mind to do this when suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’
Now all this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: Look! the virgin is with child and will give birth to a son whom they will call Immanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us’.
David fathered Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, Abijah fathered Asa, Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, Joram fathered Uzziah, Uzziah fathered Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, Ahaz fathered Hezekiah, Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, Amon fathered Josiah; and Josiah fathered Jechoniah and his brothers. Then the deportation to
After the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah fathered Shealtiel, Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel fathered Abiud, Abiud fathered Eliakim, Eliakim fathered Azor, Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, Achim fathered Eliud, Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, Matthan fathered Jacob; and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.
This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being an upright man and wanting to spare her disgrace, decided to divorce her informally.
He had made up his mind to do this when suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’
Now all this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: Look! the virgin is with child and will give birth to a son whom they will call Immanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us’.
My Thoughts
Today, September 8th, Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady, the
Gospel gives us the genealogy or Identity Card of Jesus. By means of the list
of his ancestors, the Evangelist tells the communities who Jesus is and how God
acts in a surprising way in order to fulfill his promise. On our identity card
there is our name and the name of our parents. Some persons, to say who they
are, also recall the names of the grandparents. Others, are embarrassed of
their ancestors, of their families, and hide behind appearances which deceive.
The Identity Card of Jesus has many names. On the list of names there is a
great novelty. At that time, the genealogy indicated only the name of the men.
This is why, it surprises that Matthew also mentions five women among the
ancestors of Jesus: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, the wife of Uriah and Mary. Why does he
choose precisely these five women and not others? This is the question which
the Gospel of Matthew leaves for us.
The message of the five women mentioned in the genealogy.
Jesus is the response of God to the expectation both of the Jews and of the
Pagans, but it is in a completely surprising way. In the stories of the four
women of the Old Testament, mentioned in the genealogy, there is something
abnormal. The four of them were foreigners, and they will conceive their sons
outside the normal scheme of the behaviour of that time and they do not keep
the requirements of the laws of purity of the time of Jesus. Ok lets us look at the five one at a time:
Tamar, a Canaanite, widow, dresses as a prostitute of Jericho to oblige Judah to be faithful to her and to
give her a son (Gn 38, 1-30).
Rahab, a prostitute from Jericho , makes an alliance with the
Israelites. She helped them to enter into the Promised Land and professed the
faith in a God who liberates from the Exodus. (Gs 2, 1-21).
Bathsheba, a Hittite, wife of Uriah, was seduced, abused and
made pregnant by King David, who in addition to that, ordered her husband to be
killed (2 S 11, 1-27).
Ruth, a Moabite, a poor widow, chose to remain with Naomi
and adhere to the people of God (Rt 1, 16-18). Advised by her mother-in-law
Naomi, Ruth imitates Tamar and spends the night together with Boaz, obliging
him to observe the law and to give her a son. From their relation Obed was
born, the grandfather of King David (Rt 3, 1-15; 4, 13-17).
These four women question the models of behaviour imposed by
the Patriarchal society. And thus, their conventional initiative will give
continuity to the descendants of Jesus and will bring salvation to all the
people. Through them, God realizes his plan and sends the promised Messiah.
Truly, God’s way of acting surprises and makes one think! At the end the reader
will ask: “And Mary? Is there something irregular in her? What is it? We get
the response from the story of Saint
Joseph
Mathew 1, 18-23: Saint
Joseph was just. What was irregular in Mary is that
she became pregnant before living together with Joseph, her promised spouse,
who was a just man. Jesus says: “If your justice is not greater than the
justice of the Pharisees and the Scribes, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by
the prophet: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name
shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us). Do you rejoice in the promises of God and
trust in his saving plan for your life? There is a long respected tradition
among many Christians of celebrating the birth of Mary, the mother of Jesus our
Savior, on this day. Her birth prepared for our redemption in Jesus Christ. He is the Savior of the world. In him we
receive adoption into a royal priesthood and holy nation as sons and daughters
of the living God (see 1 Peter 1:9). Do you recognize your spiritual genealogy
and do you accept God as your Father and Jesus as the sovereign King and Lord
of your life?
