Isaiah 62:1-5; Psalm 88; Acts 13:16-17, 22-25; Matthew 1:1-25
Today’s gospel recounts the ancestry of Jesus, known as the genealogy of Jesus. Genealogy is an account of the descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor or from older forms. It may appear so boring going through this lanky of names but to a Jew genealogy was the most natural, and most ineresting way to begun the story of any man’s life. The reason for thus interest in pedigrees was that the Jews set the greatest possible sure on purity of lineage. If in any man there was the slightest element of foreign blood, he lost his right to be called a Jew and a member of the people of God. Thus, the genealogy of Jesus.
This genealogy of Jesus sets Jesus’ birth within the context of the history of Israel, highlighting two of Jesus’ ancestors—Abraham, the father of the Hebrew people, and David, the most important king of Israel. Thus, Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecies made to the people of Israel.
Genealogy of Jesus is divided into three parts. The first part shows the royalty of kingship gained. The second part is concerned with the tragedy of freedom lost – the exile to Babylon which tells of the nation’s shame and tragedy. The third part shows the glory of liberty restored, it shows that Jesus is the light that has come to destroy darkness, it tells us that Jesus Christ restored our glory, Jesus Christ librated men and women from slavery, his birth marks the dawn of our peace, the realization of all the prophecies of old, and our restoration and salvation. As we celebrate Christmas let us be moved by his humble begining and spread the light he brought through all facets of our lives.
Happy Christmas !
