Homily for December 17

Homily for December 17, 2024

Matt 1: 1-17
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

Matthew’s Gospel begins with “the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (1:1).  The Scripture commentator for today at America magazine online notes:

“Jesus had a family tree. The Incarnation is a pivotal moment in salvation history, but it is also placed within family history. And in Matthew’s telling, it is not sanitized: ‘Nothing is simplified, erased or invented,’ Pope Francis wrote about Jesus’ genealogy in a recent letter on the study of church history. ‘The Lord’s genealogy consists of the true story that includes a number of figures who are problematic to say the least, and the sin of King David is also emphasized.’”*

The commentator continues:  “In that same letter, Pope Francis reminds us that ‘No one can truly know their deepest identity, or what they wish to be in the future, without attending to the bonds that link them to preceding generations.’”  That’s why we study church history, why I write Salesian history, why we keep church and congregational archives, why your history is important.

The Holy Family
(Stained glass, Immaculate Conception Church
Stony Point, N.Y.)

Jesus’ ancestry includes noble figures:  Abraham, of course, David, and Josiah—not to mention Joseph, his adoptive, legal father.

But those ancestors whom Pope Francis calls “problematic”—in some cases, scoundrels might be a better word—also are part of the story.  It’s often been observed that Jesus’ ancestry includes 4 women of doubtful reputation:  Tamar, who deceived Judah by pretending to be a prostitute; Rahab, who was a prostitute but assisted Israel’s capture of Jericho; Ruth, a foreigner; the wife of Uriah (unnamed in the genealogy), who was involved in David’s sin.

Today’s 1st reading consisted of Jacob’s putative foretelling of Judah’s future as the ancestral ruler of his brothers’ descendants—a snippet from an entire chapter about Jacob’s sons.  Judah became one of Jesus’ ancestors in spite of his refusal to follow the marriage custom of the time and thus Tamar resorted to tricking him into doing indirectly what he ought to have done directly.  Judah’s father, Jacob, was a liar and a cheat.

You know the proverb that God writes straight with crooked lines.  You know that St. Paul teaches in Romans that God makes “all things work for good” (8:28).  Our salvation history, church history, and personal history are far from spotless and immaculate.  I know none of you were scoundrels; perhaps some might have been rascals.  But God is the master who was able to work with Jacob, Judah, David, the wicked kings who followed David, even the Babylonian exile, and with the “problematic” women in the genealogy, and lead it all up to “Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus the Christ.”

God our master, Jesus our Savior, and the Holy Spirit overcome whatever hesitancies,  obstacles, even sins we’ve laid on our road toward eternity, toward the share in Jesus’ divinity that God has planned for us.  We trust that God will carry out his work in us, and he’ll even work thru us to fulfill his plan for human salvation. 

* Zac Davis, "Jesus had a family tree. Do you know yours?", America online 12/16/24.