RBWords

     The evangelist, Matthew, continues to focus on Jesus' descendance from David.  The genealogy that formed yesterday's gospel scripture is carried forward in the angel's greeting today, "Joseph, son of David....."   At the same time, Joseph is also worried about Mary's pregnancy.  This, too, is included in the genealogy if one pays attention to the four women who make an appearance in that list.  :"Irregular situations" are part and parcel of God's plan, and King David was no exception.  His infatuation with Bathsheba, the wife of his general, Uriah the Hittite, led to Uriah's death in battle.  She would eventually give birth (the second child) to Solomon!  Mary's own protest in the version of the annunciation that is more familiar to us, "How can this be.....?" adds to the overall picture of Jesus' origins.  Scripture scholars have offered the explanation that one of the criticisms leveled at Christian faith in Jesus was that he was "illegitimate" and unworthy.

     The expression, "God writes straight with crooked lines!" can come to mind.  The ups and downs of history are written by human authors who live in their own day with their own visions.  The evangelists, Matthew and Luke, are the principal sources of what we know of Jesus before he began his ministry.  Their "infancy narratives" were composed in the light of Jesus' ministry and reflect what would happen to him later on.  The Baby Jesus in the manger that excites our wonder in the Incarnation will become the suffering figure on the cross and the gloriously risen Christ.  The Christian vision of salvation is completely contained in the Christmas/Epiphany season and leads us on into the rest of the liturgical year.  AMEN