Readings: Genesis 49: 2,8-10
Matthew
1:1-17
”…the genealogy of Jesus
Christ,
son of David, the son of Abraham.”
In today's second Misa de Gallo, we have the
Matthean version of the genealogy of Jesus for our gospel. We may wonder why
our liturgy has selected these series of names for our good news. At first
glance, it really seems difficult to draw some evangelical lessons out of the
names. But not really. Matthew must have, something to tell. Among others,
therefore, we have these following points for meditation.
1. The Genealogy teaches us the importance of
Christ's historical identity. Here, we have two very significant terms: history
and identity. By history, we always mean time and place.
Such concepts are absolutely important in trying to understand the mystery of
the Incarnation. Expressed briefly, the Incarnation means: the Eternal God
comes in a particular time and in a particular place. Thus, the God who was
once not in any way subject to the limits of time and place has submitted
himself to such human limitation just for our sake.
What immediately follows from the concept of
historicity is identity. By human standards, the first question asked to
an unknown person is: Who are you? And by his answer, he identifies
himself to a particular family or lineage. In such cases, our genealogy speaks
of and for what we are. And here, we learn the wisdom of the old saying: “A
tree is known by its fruit, or reversely, "a fruit reveals its
tree," or perhaps similarly "by knowing the tree, we know its
fruit."
2. This is
precisely the case of Jesus. By his genealogy, he identifies himself as "Son
of David.” This identity is not merely secular but deep religious and
cultural. It is embedded in the long history of the Jews as the chosen race.
Thus, the messiahship of Christ traces back to what the prophet of the old
would foretell. He shall come from the stock of Jesse, establishing then the
Davidic lineage. True, the Messiah is God. But as he enters into human history,
he lives a life fully human. Thus, he needs
an ancestry to identify himself to, he needs a family to belong to. But
although he is fully human, he is no ordinary man either. As the Messiah, he is
undoubtedly a great figure both politically and religiously. In fact, this is
the concept of Israel's messiah. Now, David is Israel's greatest king both in
the standards of man and of God. This messiah, therefore, must be a Son of
David.
3. The genealogy teaches us about divine
providence, and more, about the divine plan of God. Meaning, all that happens in this world happens not by
chance but by choice. This choice may at times be ours but at other times may
not be ours, too. But, if not ours, surely it is God’s. Look. Think.
Jesus neither came out of the blues nor did he
come before or after he actually did. And when he indeed came, he came as a Son
of David. But far from being grandiose as to be of royal lineage, he came
among the poorest of the poor. Why? --- Not only that. Surprisingly, the
genealogy includes some women in the list. First, we have Tamar, who in her
determination to secure her right to an offspring, which was refused by Judah, disguised herself as a prostitute and seduced
her father-in-law, Judah himself. Second, we have Rahab, a real prostitute, who
allied with the Jews in conquering Jericho. Third, we have Ruth the Moabite, a
non-Jew who ended up marrying Naomi’s kinsman Boaz. And lastly, we have
Batsheba, Uriah's wife, who committed adultery with David. And again, we ask:
Why?
There could be as many answers as there are many
minds that think. But perhaps there seems only one, which is closest: i.e.,
because these things proceed from God's definite choice. The fact that they
happened just the way they did suggests that such must have been the best of
all possible choices that God could ever make.
4. Life at times runs this way, too. Some people
point to their family tree with pride and honor. Others look at their lineage
with sorrow and regrets. And perhaps a few
do not and cannot point to any at all simply because they don't have, or
better, because they don't have, or better, because they don’t know what family
they do belong to. This is truly a sad situation. But it is never a desperate
and hopeless one. Nothing happens by chance. Everything happens by choice. We
are more than the lilies in the field. We are more than the birds of the air.
We are more than the fishes in the ocean. We always belong to a family. Of
course, if not to a human family whom we can point out to, we have God's family
where we can always find love, peace arid security. Indeed, nothing happens by
chance, everything happens by choice!