Advent – God and crooked lines
The 17th December heralds in a new phase of the
Advent liturgy. It is a time of
heightened expectations expressed in the drama of the great anticipation.
This time has its own special antiphons for the Breviary and
in particular the great O Antiphons which are also reflected in the liturgy of
the Eucharist for these days. These
antiphons have been set to some of the most beautiful music we have.
I wrote about these antiphons here https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/32037454/116632818796573691
. They reflect the longing and hope of
Israel which were fulfilled in Jesus.
The Gospel reading for the 17th that ushers in
this period is the genealogy of Jesus Christ according to Matthew (Mt 1:1-17). This text is so important it is also read at
the Vigil of Christmas.
So, what is it about a list of names?
In the culture of Israel and the Jews of the first Christian
communities, genealogy tells us who that person is. It is their identity; their credentials. Matthew’s community would be familiar with
this from their Jewish heritage. They
would have known each of these ancestors.
Matthew divides the generations into three parts of fourteen
ancestors. Mostly, men are named but there
are four women who are significant.
This list of names of patriarchs and kings who were leaders
of Israel, were called by God to serve their people. Some did well others didn’t. We have the patriarch Abraham and his dynasty
of Isaac and Jacob and their descendants; Boaz, a wealthy landowner becomes the
husband of Ruth and ancestor of King David who became the measure against which
all kings were gauged.
Yet these men were imperfect. Abraham was more than willing to slaughter
his son at God’s behest; he was devious in passing his wife Sarah off as his
sister to save himself; he expelled his concubine Hagar and her child to fend
for themselves.
Isaac, like his father passed his wife Rebekah off as his
sister and he is tricked into giving his blessing to Jacob the younger son.
Jacob was devious in tricking his father and certainly no
model of parenting as his favouritism towards Joseph led to his brothers hating
him and trying to kill him. Instead,
Joseph was sold as a slave. Fortunately
for this dysfunctional family, Joseph rose to power in Egypt and gave them
shelter.
This brings us to the women in the genealogy. Judah is one of Jacob’s sons. Tamar was his daughter-in-law but both her
husbands died. Judah refused to have her
marry the third son and sent her away.
She dressed as a prostitute by the roadside and from her liaison with
Judah became pregnant. When Judah found
out he ordered her put to death. However,
Tamar had items which he had given her and produced these, thus saving her
life. Judah admitted his liaison and brought
her back into the family.
Tamar is considered a heroine because under the levirate marriage
laws, the son she bore would continue the dynasty of her deceased husband. By refusing to have his third son marry Tamar
he broke this significant custom.
Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho when Israel was entering
the promised land. She helped Joshua’s
spies escape from Jericho. After Jericho
fell, it is said that only Rahab and her family were spared. In certain texts, Rahab married Joshua.
Ruth, was a Moabite, a race hated by Israelites. It is a beautiful story (The Book of Ruth) of
fidelity to Naomi, her mother-in-law and to her deceased husband. Ruth eventually marries Boaz and they become
the grandparents of David. Again the
levirate marriage customs formed part of the story.
The fourth woman, goes unnamed in the genealogy but we know
her as Bathsheba. She is powerless
against the authority of the king. King David sees her bathing and desires her
to the point that he arranges for her husband Uriah to be killed in
battle. We have this king who is one ‘after
God’s heart’, an adulterer and a murderer.
It is unusual for women to be named in a genealogy but each
of these women is considered a heroine in Israel. They had questionable reputations and put
themselves at risk. Through them, the
line of the Messiah is ensured. Mary is
the only other woman mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy and she too stands in
line with these heroines.
These men and women in Jesus’ genealogy stand out as at
times devious, foolish, venal, victims, outsiders (think of Ruth the Moabite
and Rahab the Jericho prostitute). At
the same time, they are God’s beloved through whom God patiently weaves the
threads of salvation history.
They weren’t perfect individuals. The Scriptures do no shy
away from recounting their failures. In the midst of the complexities of human
life, they stayed faithful to the Holy One who blessed them, called them to
repentance and through them the desires of Israel were fulfilled. They are the line of the messiah.
I take consolation from this genealogy. The Holy One is patient, chooses us as we are
and invites us to allow ourselves to grow into wholeness. We are part of the great story of salvation
history that Jesus’ ancestors lived.
If we wait until we are perfect or until circumstances are perfect,
we have missed the whole point of Incarnation – that God is with us.
This is the key to understanding this history given by
Matthew. He begins and ends the Gospel
with ‘God with us’. He adds to Isaiah
7:14 – Jesus’ name ‘Emmanuel’ is explained as ‘God with us’. Matthew ends the Gospel with Jesus in Galilee
sending out his disciples to make disciples of all nations with the promise ‘I
am with you all days, until the end of the age’ (Mt 28:20)
As my mother used to say, ‘God writes straight on crooked
lines’.
All I can say is, ‘Thank goodness’.
