Advent day 16

Matthew 1:1-17          Advent day 16

         If you scroll down to the scripture reading it is very long today. It is the lineage of Jesus and it seems exhaustive. Wow. How many of us wouldn't love to see our own lineage put down on paper?

Two things strike me about this list and that's what I'd like to focus on.

         What strikes me first is the almost unpronounceable names that this list includes. The names seem foreign not just old worldly. How could Jesus be so foreign? Doesn't he have perfect complexion, blue eyes and although tortured, have abs of steel? Yeah, that would be the Hollywood Jesus. Actually, Jesus was a foreigner to us. Jesus was probably short, olive skinned, Jewish  (duh!) and probably would have looked more like an Arab than a man fit for an Abercrombie & Fitch poster. Jesus' appearance might actually make us feel uncomfortable in this post 9/11 world. Perhaps he'd be more likely to resemble an immigrant worker than a Waspy version of Jesus that we might have in our head. Sometimes we shade the entire world by what life is like here in the United States.  As much as some right wing conservative Christians would have you believe this country is not the pinnacle nor the sole source of Christianity.  I think it behooves us to try and think about the historical man Jesus and who he was as he walked the middle east. It seems like it would be a nice gift to give God, simply to meditate on His son.

           The other thought is about the actual extent of the lineage. What lengths God has gone to to help us, to guide us, to show his love for us?  It just seems like a well laid out plan to me.  The meditation that I am currently engaged in then is, once again, just how much God our creator loves us and what lengths he will go to for us. He loves us with recklous abandon and would do anything for us ..and actually does.  One of my plans was to start this Blog as a means of spiritual expression (my love for God) as well as a means of support and growth for those who are out there, marginalized and who might feel abandoned. This Advent I urged everyone to make their own plan, a dedicated plan and an effort to spend time with our creator, our God who loves us. Is that too much to ask for when we are loved so much? But we must have a plan to accomplish our goal.

          Christmas is days away, need I say more?   

         

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 Christ.

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 Christ,

fourteen generations.