Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel?
A family record of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah whose mother was Tamar. Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram. (Matthew 1:1-3)
And so it goes with the Gospel that is proclaimed each year in our Church to celebrate the birth of Christ. Matthew spends 17 verses and 42 generations of names before getting to how the birth of Jesus occurred. I am sure there are many sitting in the pews each year thinking to themselves, “get on with it already! Just tell us the story!” I also know many clergy who opt each time this Gospel is proclaimed to simply skip over Christ’s genealogy in order to avoid the long list of difficult to pronounce names. Personally, I always go with the long version. I figure Matthew put it there for some reason other than to provide amusement to the congregation as they listen to deacons and priests struggling with proper pronunciation.
Each year we celebrate the season of Advent as a reminder that the people of Israel waited generations for God to send a savior. We often remember that it was through Mary’s acceptance of God’s call to give birth to His Son and with the help of Joseph as a foster father that Jesus is connected to the human race. But this genealogy reminds me that many more people were involved over the centuries in preparing the way for our savior to be born. It’s also worth mentioning that there are many people mentioned in Jesus’ family tree that could be seen as scandalous. Sure, the faithful Abraham is there and his beloved son Isaac, but also present is Jacob who stole his brother’s birthright and wrestled with God. There are prostitutes and murderers, adulterers and idolaters. There are kings and peasants, shepherds and soldiers. There are several people who led such uninspiring lives that no one remembers a single thing about them.
So what does this list of names say to us today? It seems that first of all we should know that when Christ invites us to communion with Him, to be part of his family, there is no obstacle that can keep us from accepting his call. Just take a look at his family. But what I wonder most about is just how many years it took for 42 generations to live their lives. I wonder if Shealtiel or Zerubbabel ever thought that their lives might have been about something much bigger than they could have ever imagined. Perhaps one day, long after we have left this earth we will discover that God called us, in the same way he did them, to help prepare the way for his second coming. It seems to me that he is content with each of us having just a small part to play, that step by step, and over long periods of time, our actions may be ushering in the coming Kingdom of God.
Just a thought.
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