Where is the Good News in these strange Names?
Ancient
genealogies were supposed to teach something about a person. What then
is the message that Matthew tries to give us with this genealogy?
In
a Jewish genealogy only the names of men appeared. But Matthew includes
the names of women. Also, the names of “black sheep” in the family, of
sinners were erased. Yet he includes the names of sinful women, of black
sheep in the ancestry: Tamar who seduced her father-in-law; Rahab, the
prostitute at Jericho; and the mother of Solomon, Bathsheba, the wife of
Uriah, with whom King David committed adultery.
And
there is another woman: Ruth. She was not a sinner but a foreigner, and
of all foreigners a Moabite, belonging to the archenemies of the
Israelites.
Where then is the good news?
Matthew tells us through this strange genealogy who Jesus was:
First of all, He was a true Jew, a son of Abraham.
Second, He came to save not only the Jews but all human beings, represented by the Moabite Ruth.
He
came not only for men but also to save women. And finally, He did not
come for good people only but also for sinners, represented by the
sinful women in the genealogy.
At
the end, Matthew presents Mary from whom Jesus was born. He interrupts
the flow of the genealogy when he ntroduces Joseph, the husband of Mary.
He does not say, as in all other cases, that he was the father of Jesus
but he changes the pattern and says that from Mary Jesus was born.
That’s another lesson: Jesus is not the son of Joseph but, as it will
become clear later, the son of Mary who conceived Him through the power
of the Holy Spirit.
And so, the strange genealogy tells us a lot of good things about Jesus. It’s really good news. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD
REFLECTION QUESTION: Have you ever asked questions about the meaning of the genealogy in today’s Gospel?
Lord,
even a list of strange names in the Gospel has a message and tells me
Good News about You. Thank You for the insight and for learning again
something important about You.
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