Reading
Mt 1:1-23
1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
4 Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
6 and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
9 Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12 After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,
Abihud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
14 Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Elihud,
15 Elihud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.
17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.
18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Comment
The reference to the ancestors of Jesus is found in both the Gospel of Matthew and that of Luke. Matthew, opening his narrative precisely with the genealogy of Jesus on the side of Joseph, highlights a clear break in the history of humanity, from the era of the covenant and the law to that of grace.
The name "Jesus" comes from Hebrew and means "the Lord saves", while the titles of "Christ" and "Son of David" are attributes that respectively indicate "he who has been anointed", which is the expected Messiah and the royal dignity of Jesus. The reference to Abraham refers to the father of Israel, and to the pact that God makes with him, promising him a descendant wider than the sand of the sea. In this, the universal mission of Jesus is indicated.
Not only do these opening verses of Matthew's Gospel provide an accurate "identity card" about Jesus and explain who he is. We find in this genealogy three foreign women, who were also guilty of grave sins according to the law of Israel. Tamar was a Canaanite who acted as a prostitute to seduce Judas (Gn 38:13-30); Rahab was a foreigner and a prostitute (Jos 2:1); Uriah's wife, Bathsheba, committed adultery with David, who had her husband killed (2 Sam 11).
This genealogy shows the grace of God that passes from generation to generation, despite sin, until the fulfillment of salvation: "so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it" (Is 55:11). Matthew clearly sees a divine plan in history, even in numbering the generations before and after David, before and after the Babylonian exile, although he skips a few. Knowing how to read God's actions in history, even in our personal history, is the fruit of faith in the grace of the Lord, who does not abandon us, but shows himself merciful and does not blame us for our infidelities.
The human image of mercy in this story belongs to Joseph, who thinks of secretly dismiss Mary. In fact, adultery was considered such even if it was committed during the betrothal period prior to marriage and was punished by stoning (Dt 22:23-24). Perhaps Joseph felt that there was truly God's hand in the pregnancy of that woman, whose religious piety he must have known well. It will be an angel to confirm in a dream that what is in her is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of God is together with Jesus the true protagonist of the New Testament and is named 92 times, against 3 in the Old Testament. With the advent of Jesus, we have received not only the new Adam, capable of restoring the divine image in man, but also the Spirit, who accompanies the work of Christ's disciples, for the coming of his kingdom.
Jesus, the legitimate heir of David according to the descendants of Joseph, is generated by the Holy Spirit. All our religious piety must take this into account: nothing in itself - prayers, sacraments, biblical readings - is capable of generating Christ if it is not nourished by the fire of the Spirit, that is obtained by faith. Only the Spirit can fulfill the promise of a "God with us" (v. 23)
Prayer
Heavenly Father, whose grace has abounded in our misery, grant us to welcome the wonders of your love by faith and generate your eternal Word in us through the Holy Spirit. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
