Advent 2020 Reflection – Day Fifteen

Day 15 – Matthew 1 1- 6

1 This is the genealogy^[a] of Jesus the Messiah^[b] the son of David, the son of Abraham:

² Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
³ Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
⁴ Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
⁵ Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
⁶ and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

Reflection

Matthew’s opening verses name the lineage of Jesus. It is a temptation to approach these verses as a dry list of names which can be quickly passed over. The list does give us much to think about and ponder. For rather than being filled with the great and the good it is full of individuals who have significant character flaws.

We can approach the list of names as an index which can direct us to dig deeper and learn about these people and their stories. As we do this each story reveals to us that God accepts and uses those with major flaws in their lives.

There is,therefore, a challenge for us as we look around and think who we should be encouraging to become disciples of Jesus. It also helps us to be more compassionate and welcoming in our fellowships, especially to those who have lives which have been as colourful as those named in these opening verses of Matthew.

Discovering that those named in the lineage of Jesus are promiscuous, terrible bullies, liars and thieves can help us look again at our views of and attitudes towards inclusion in the family of God and who we might be tempted to consider unacceptable in the eyes of God.

Silence

In our time of silence we remember the times when we have been welcoming to those who we are tempted to shy away from and give thanks to God that he has a place for everyone in his family tree.

Carol

I have chosen the carol Long ago prophets knew by Fred Pratt Green. It is number 178 in Singing the Faith.

It sums up this long prophesied coming of Jesus through this lineage of these less than perfect characters. For “He will freely love and pardon” as “This is God’s timeless plan”.

Prayer

Loving God as we reflect on those who have been named in today’s verses and their many flaws. We rejoice that whatever we have done we are welcome into your family. We do not ever need to fear not being good enough to come to you.

As we rejoice in your generous grace, help us to remember that you call us to go to those who most need to know of your welcoming embrace. Save us from the temptation to judge and pre-determine who you would welcome and thus sifting out of our plans those who most need to experience your loving forgiveness.

May we always remember that there is a place for everyone in your story of Salvation. Help us to play our part to the best of our ability and with the totality of our passion and commitment. Amen