St. Matthew’s Gospel begins (see chapter 1) with his account of the genealogy of Jesus’ family. It is an ingenious reconstruction, based on a close reading of the Old Testament, to situate Jesus four-square at the heart of Israel’s lineage.
That St. Matthew’s genealogy is an artistic and literary construct rather than a soberly factual genealogy, is strongly hinted by dividing the list neatly into three sets of fourteen generations — one set, from the Founding Father (Abraham) to the heights of royal splendor (David, a man after God’s own heart); then one from those royal heights to the bitter depths of the Babylonian Captivity; finally, it traces His lineage from the Captivity down to Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born. We might ask, as many others have, “Why did the Gospel writer St. Matthew bother with that long list of forty two names?” But it was clearly important to communicate some sense of Jesus’ family tree.
There is an increasing interest in family trees in recent times. More and more people want to know their own background. “Who are the people who have helped make us the people we are?” Each of us is very aware that the story of our ancestors is an important part of our own story. It is that part of our story which is “below ground,” like the roots of a tree. St. Matthew was very aware that the story of Jesus’ ancestors was an important chapter in Jesus’ own story. Jesus had parents, grandparents, and great grandparents. The first hearers (or readers) of the Gospel found reassurance and encouragement in knowing where Jesus had come from. As we await His return in glory, may we, too, find reassurance and comfort in our belief that we are also part of the “lineage” of Jesus by virtue of our Baptism. We, too, belong to His family.
Let us pray. “Lord God, we thank you for counting us among your own. We thank you for making us your sons and daughters, brothers and sisters of Jesus Himself. Keep our hearts grateful and continue to bless our Advent days. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
