Mt 1: 1-17
An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Our Salvation History
Full disclosure, I tend to zone out when I hear this Gospel begin. Known in my head as the “begat Gospel,” because some translations read “Abraham begat Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob…”, it runs through a long list of hard to pronounce Old Testament names until we get to Mary, Joseph, and Jesus at the end. But when I stop paying attention to this passage, I am missing the larger point of why Matthew chooses to begin his Gospel in this way.
Matthew’s Gospel was written for a Jewish audience, and its pages contain references to the Hebrew Scriptures and the ways that Jesus is, in fact, the promised Messiah. By beginning with Jesus’ genealogy, Matthew places Jesus directly in line of the Abraham, the father of Israel, and David, the king. While you and I may not trace our genetic genealogy back to the names mentioned in this list, we are nonetheless reminded that we share in this heritage. Our salvation history is woven through the stories that accompany these names, and we are brothers and sisters of this promised Savior.
As we reflect during this final week of Advent, who are the people who are part of your faith history, who have helped you deepen your faith in our Savior?
—Lauren Gaffey is the associate director of communications for the Midwest Jesuits and an associate director of Ignatian Young Adult Ministries for the Office of Ignatian Spirituality.
Prayer
Loving God, you have been at work in human history since the beginning of time. Thank you for the gift of your Son, who is our light and salvation. As we draw closer to the celebration of Jesus’ birth, may we remember that it is your love for us that has saved us. Amen.
—Jesuit Prayer team