Word to the Wise
Monday, December 17, 2007 - Monday of the Third Week of Advent
[Genesis 49:2, 8-10 and Matthew 1:1-17]Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.......etc.
If ever there was evidence that God writes straight with crooked lines, the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew is it. The problem is that most folks just "turn off" when that long list of _________________became the father of _________________shows up. Preachers run in terror from it! Lectors despair! Yet, the genealogy is a powerful preaching about Jesus Christ! It is not just a matter of the random selection of a couple in Nazareth! The story of Jesus begins with Abraham! But all along the way there are strange decisions about who is going to make it into the genealogy. The way is surprising because it often involves human behavior that is less than honorable. For example, Jacob robs Esau of his birthright. So, the patriarchal section leaves some questions! The second section begins with Kings! We know that David, for all his glory and shrewdness, was anything but a bright and shining example of moral rectitude. He got the husband of Bathsheba killed so he could have her. And the rest of the kings? Just read about them. Only Josiah and Hezekiah come close to getting a passing grade from the biblical authors! As the great biblical scholar, Raymond Brown, SS, puts it: "The rest were an odd assortment of idolaters, murderers, incompetents, power-seekers, and harem-wastrels." (Things haven't changed much have they?) And in the third part, until we get to Joseph and Mary, the list is a group of nobodies who disappear into the mists of the past without a trace. Some genealogy! The fact is, God chooses very unexpected people to accomplish his plan of salvation. There's no advertising the job or nation-wide search by a committee. Anyone is a candidate. In some ways the "apostolic succession" has taken the place of the genealogy, and we know from history that God has chosen some unusual candidates for church leadership! Yet the church continues. So do we - living out the plan of God day after day, year after year, generation after generation. We are part of a great story but we are not the principal story teller. We can only talk about our part to the extent that we have lived it. If God can accomplish what has been done through patriarchs and kings and through Jesus Christ and the subsequent hierarchy and ordinary believers, we can have confidence that we are as significant as anyone. We are as much a part of the story as Abraham and David and Joseph and Mary. We just have to keep helping to make the story possible. AMEN
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