An Interesting Family Tree

The Gospel story for this week, the fourth Sunday in Advent, is the account of Jesus' birth according to Matthew (Matthew 1:18-25). It starts out: "Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way." It goes on to describe Mary's unexpected pregnancy during the year of betrothal, Joseph's decision to handle things quietly but dismiss Mary and the baby anyway, and the angel's intervention to encourage Joseph to make a different choice .

But before any of this drama unfolds. Matthew starts his gospel with a genealogy, a "family tree" for Jesus.

And the content of it is very interesting. It includes adoption, intermarriage, unwed pregnancy, racy stories,faithfulness, sin, wonderful successes, incredible failures, and individuals who have experienced both success and failure.

Jesus is described as "the son of David, the son of Abraham." That doesn't mean that Jesus was their biological son, rather that he is a descendant of both. Matthew starts the family tree with Abraham, the "father" of the Jewish faith, who with his wife Sarah were the recipients of God's promise. They traveled from their home in Ur (today in Iraq) to begin a new community of God's people. Fourteen generations later is David, the great king of Israel. People in Jesus' time were still longing for the return of the nation to the "glory days" of King David.

But the family tree in Matthew is richer and more diverse than the legendary figures.

Though such a genealogy in Jesus of Nazareth's time would typically focus only on the fathers of each generation, this family tree lists five key women as well. The first is Tamar, whose story is told in Genesis 38. She is a colorful, strong, resourceful woman who rose above being victimized to outwit her integrity-starved father-in-law in a story that is both scandalous and delightful.

The second woman, Rahab, is found in Joshua Chapter 2 (and in artwork above). A resident of Jericho and reputedly a prostitute, she helped protect spies from Israel and was honored for her service. Later she married an Israelite, and gave birth to a son named Boaz, a good man who became husband of the third woman on our list, Ruth. The Old Testament Book of Ruth is her story. Ruth was a foreigner from Moab whose faithfulness to her Israelite mother-in-law Naomi, after Naomi's sons had died, is legendary. The fourth woman mentioned is Bathsheba, with whom King David had his son Solomon, the future king. The story of David and Bathsheba (IISamuel 11) is a troubling one and demonstrates that even the great hero David is deeply flawed. The way that the family tree refers to Bathsheba only as "the wife of Uriah" is pointing out the wrongness and the tragedy of this part of the story (1:6). The last woman mentioned is Mary, mother of Jesus. Joseph is referred to as "the husband of Mary," though of course, when Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit they were not yet married.

Matthew follows the lineage of Abraham and David to emphasize that Jesus is indeed the Jewish Messiah. But since it is Mary, not Joseph, who is Jesus' biological parent, the Gospel basically says that the bloodline of David was "adopted" into the story!! God's adoptive history of love is every bit as thick as blood relation; in God's love, sometimes thicker!

The mention of the women changes the way of looking at people and value from the outset. Of course, Jesus' ministry will do that so much more! Several of the key people in the family tree

are immigrants, "outsiders." There are all different kinds of people on the list, with different abilities and histories. God claims them all, and weaves everything about their lives into the larger story of Jesus and the world's salvation.

Work on your family tree. Find out what you can about the generations which preceded you; who and where you came from. What key decisions did your parents and ancestors make that impacted your life later? Whose faith has influenced you? Who has God adopted in your story?How does God make you a key part of God's Family Tree?

Be a Part of What God is Doing!

They are common laborers. Living and working under the open sky, on the night shift, more than one badly in need of a bath. The angel comes to them, illuminating the world around them with God's glory. The shepherds are terrified at first, but the angel encourages them just as Mary and Joseph have been encouraged before: "Don't be afraid--for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people of the world."

Imagine that! The good news of God's love is being brought to the world for everyone--and it begins with them!

Our translation of the angel's words: "Don't be afraid to be a part of what God is doing!"

Words of encouragement for each of us.

In Bethlehem, the newborn child is wrapped in old cloths lying around the barn, and has been laid in a feed trough. The parents are alone in the world with their precious, vulnerable young life, until these common folk who have humbly answered God's call come to be with them. The shepherds form the very first community of Jesus with the tired parents.

A heavenly multitude praises God and sings: ""Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he has favored!" Mary was the first identified as God's "favored one." Then the anguished Joseph, in a dream, found out the unusual shape God's favor can take in a person's life. Now the shepherds are beckoned from an ordinary work day to celebrate God's favor resting on them, too. Together, the members of this new "family" experience the peace of God, available in even the most unsettled of circumstances.

Difficult, Wonderful Choices

"Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." --Matthew 1:20

After hearing Mary's wondered response to the angel Gabriel and God's world-changing plan, we turned our attention to Joseph. His story is told more specifically in Matthew's gospel.

We asked: What is Joseph going to do? God is interfering with the plans he and Mary and their families have made--and in a very dramatic way!

We imagined that Joseph would be very upset. He may have a hard time believing that Mary's pregnancy is from the Holy Spirit and is part of God's plan to save the world. Class members thought he would suspect that there was "someone else." Even if people in the community thought it was Joseph's baby, this would be embarrassing.

God's angel comes to Joseph in his sleep, telling him not be afraid, to continue with plans to be wedded to Mary. In the Bible, angels are always telling God's people not be afraid--probably because any time we really believe that God is talking to us (!) we get terrified. We are also reminded that when God is part of our relationships they become stronger but they also change--they are never just about what we want to do for ourselves, or what we plan for ourselves! God's dreams are greater than ours.

Joseph has resolved to "dismiss Mary quietly." He doesn't want her to get hurt or ridiculed--but he also doesn't want the problems of having to believe her story or take care of her and the baby. They will be on their own. The angel intercedes and tells Joseph that he, too, is a part of God's plan for saving the world!! This will be hard, but it will be good. Joseph has to make a difficult but wonderful choice. In doing so, he has to look beyond himself, which he does.

Earlier in the class, one of our members had said that the Book of Isaiah told us something about Jesus. In Matthew 1:23, we found a quote from Isaiah 7 about a virgin conceiving and bearing a son, who will be named "Emmanuel." This new name means, "God is with us." Jesus will be "God-with-us."

We concluded this section by reflecting on what the stories have taught us about God. Here are some of our conclusions:

(1) God always interrupts us, at a "bad time" for a good reason.

(2) God chooses normal, everyday people. They are often folks who go unnoticed in daily life.

(3) God sends messengers to us.

(4) God acts to save us all from our sins.

(5) God's power is to send us an undefended, vulnerable, promising baby that will grow among us.

What is our place in this story? How does the story continue today?