17-Dec-18

Gospel MT 1:1-17
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar.
Perez became the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab became the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab.
Boaz became the father of Obed,
whose mother was Ruth.
Obed became the father of Jesse,
Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
Solomon became the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asaph.
Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah became the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amos,
Amos the father of Josiah.
Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers
at the time of the Babylonian exile.
After the Babylonian exile,
Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.
Abiud became the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok.
Zadok became the father of Achim,
Achim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar became the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
Thus the total number of generations
from Abraham to David
is fourteen generations;
from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;
from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,
fourteen generations.

Reflection:
Jesus' family tree is filled with all kinds of people, both saints and rogues.
In his faithfulness, Abraham was prepared to sacrifice Isaac, his own son, as proof of his obedience to God.
David, the child who was hand picked by God to lead the Jewish nation, grew up to be both an adulterer and murderer.
The blood of everyone in Jesus' human family flowed through the veins of Joseph. Nevertheless, Joseph became the foster father and protector of the Christ child.
If we traced our own genealogy we would find it is much the same as that of Jesus, including both heroes and rascals. Still, God invites each of us to be His hearts and hands and to make His love known to others.
Our human nature has been described as a marble cake, neither light or dark but a mix of both.
God's plan, His ability to use you to do His work, is not limited by the faults and weaknesses or the accomplishments of your ancestors.
For you are a new creation!
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Jesus calls you to rise above your self doubt, to trust in the love and power of God.
Do not be afraid to answer the call of Christ.
Make yourself available. Say, "Here I am, Lord!"
Then let God use you to bring His love and hope to the poor, the downtrodden and the discouraged.
"It is the Lord who goes before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you or forsake you; do not fear or be dismayed.” Deuteronomy 31:8