Word to the Wise
Saturday, January 6, 2007 - Christmas Weekday
[1 John 5:5-13 and Mark 7:7-13 OR Luke 3:23-38]When Jesus began his ministry he was about thirty years of age. He was the son, as was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli............the son of Adam, the son of God.
There are a lot of names in the space where the dots appear in this quote from one of the possible gospel readings for this day. (I don?t know why there is a choice ? perhaps to spare some priests and deacons the pronunciation challenges?) Those names represent the genealogy of Jesus as recounted by the Gospel of Luke. They are very different from the one in Matthew because the purpose of the genealogy is different. Remember, the Bible is not concerned with being consistent by the standards of our age. The purpose of the Lukan form is given in the last four words: the son of God. Introductions in my native Southland will often include information about possible family connections between the persons being introduced. Genealogical tidbits have a way of easing the awkwardness of meeting someone for the first time. It has the effect of ?placing? a person in time and relationships. Of course, that can be risky if there?s some not-quite-forgotten-long-ago feud over something. ?So and so? Isn?t he/she the one who??.? Maybe I shouldn?t even be talking to you!? In the case of Jesus, our eyes often glaze over at the reading of either genealogy. What difference does it make? Perhaps a clue may be found in the very fact that the genealogies are THERE to be read and pondered in the Word of God. Why were they left in there by the communities who preserved the traditions? What do they say about Jesus? What would our own genealogy say about us? AMEN
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