Scripture: Luke 3:23b-26
People supposed that he was the son of Joseph son of Heli son of Matthat son of Levi son of Melchi son of Jannai son of Joseph son of Mattathias son of Amos son of Nahum son of Esli son of Naggai son of Maath son of Mattathias son of Semein son of Josech son of Joda…
Thought for the Day: This is only a portion of the genealogy of Jesus, according to the Gospel of Luke. A lot of ink has been spilled in trying to harmonize this genealogy with the one found in Matthew’s Gospel. Can I just say that attempting to harmonize is like trying to harmonize the TV shows Brady Bunch and Modern Family. Yes, they were/are both comedies, and they were/are both about families. The historic context to which they were written is the same, in that they are both written for people living in the United States. But one was written for the 1970’s, and the other has been running for the last 10 years or so. Both were about blended families, but Modern Family has a same sex couple with a daughter, and another couple that is racially diverse. The Brady Bunch was not quite ready to go there. Yet both shows were/are challenging what society considered the norm. The Brady Bunch showed mom and dad sleeping in the same bed, and though not the first TV show to do so, it was pushing the envelope. And of course, it was a second marriage for both of them. Mike (dad) was a widower, but Carol’s (mom) reason for singleness was never disclosed. She was originally written as a divorced woman, but the network didn’t believe America was quite ready. So they left it to the imagination of America.
So what does this have to do with Jesus? Luke and Matthew did not want us spending time trying to harmonize their genealogies. Instead, we need to be asking why and for what reason do they attempt to tell the unique story they are telling. The two Gospel writers looked at the peculiar aspects of their communities and wrote to those peculiarities. In both cases, the Jesus they are writing about will be understood by the community as someone who is very much connected to them and their unique circumstances. Isn’t that the work of every Christian?
Prayer: O Creative God, continue to encourage the work of shaping the proclamation of Jesus in such a way that everyone who hears it can hear of your love that is big enough and broad enough to both reach and embrace every person. Too often we have announced Jesus in such a way that he appears only interested in the unique problems of the one doing the announcing. Open us to your Spirit that has and continues to inspire generations of disciples who can articulate the Good News in ways that bring hope and joy to more and more people. Amen.
