Gospel: Matthew 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 Messiah.
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 Messiah, fourteen generations.
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Reflection:
When my wife and I decided to get married, We had to go through the process of knowing each other's family. My wife's family is a well known clan in Montalban Rizal for they own one of the first funeral holmes in our town. When people heard that i'm about to marry my wife, they'd say, ah! she belonged to the family of funeral expert or ' a! lahi yan ng mga nag-aayos ng patay.'
In the gospel today, we can see the geneology of Jesus from Abraham down to his parents. Jesus belong to a Royal Lineage of men who made the faith and fate of Israel. If we are to dissect His family, many of his relatives are worst than Hitler and Stalin. King David had his army general Uriah killed to legitimate his affairs with Bathsheba. Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. He made expensive temples in Jerusalem at the expense of forced labor and heavy taxes on his subjects. He turned away from Yahweh and worshipped the many Gods and Idols of his wives. His son Manasseh, had his own son killed and offered it to the gods. They were warned of a divided kingdom and foreign rule but they never listened to the prophets send by God.
But not all of them were dead sinners and adulterers. They were countered by few good men. We can read about Jesse, the faithful sheperd and father of David. The humble Ruth and her devotion to her mother-in-law and to God. Joseph the righteous carpenter. Mary the most blessed among women and many others who were not so famous but faithful to Yahweh.
Now whats the good news about the gospel?
God is faithful to His chosen people that inspite of their sins and inequities, salvation can still come amongst them. God's Kingdom are made by both sinners and saints worthy of Love and forgiveness. God made His dwellings on human weaknesses so He can redeemed them and to make known his infinite Love.
