A model of faithful discipleship – Saturday, 3rd week in advent – Matthew1:18-24
A model of faithful discipleship – Saturday, 3rd week in advent – Matthew 1:18-24
Matthew’s Gospel has no Christmas story just the run up to it and the declaration of the birth of Jesus in verse 25. There are no shepherds, no manger, no long winter travel to Bethlehem but there is the narrative of the wise men. The Matthean text tells the story more from the angle of Joseph’s perspective, while the Lukan birth narrative tells the tale from the perspective of Mary. With its focus on Joseph as the chief character, Matthew’s unique story of Jesus’ birth will probably not be the model for any children’s Christmas pageant, in many of which Joseph seems to walk in the shadows as a necessary.
Joseph is engaged to Mary, but they have not yet “come to live together.” When Mary is found to be with child, a dilemma arises for Joseph. He does not yet know that the child is “from the Holy Spirit” and believes that she has been unfaithful, bringing dishonor to both their families. According to the law, Joseph had grounds not only to dismiss Mary, but even to have her stoned to death (Deuteronomy 22:13-30).
It would do well if we have some background information about early Jewish marriages in order to understand the exposition of this text. Betrothal (Hebrew kiddushin) was a marriage contract, typically arranged by the parents that took place at birth but when one reached an age of reason one got engaged. The second step (nissu’in) or an engagement was considerably later, often including a marriage feast, after which the groom took his wife to his home. Engagements in this culture was a formal contractual matter. It is for this reason that Matthew says that Joseph had resolved to “divorce” Mary whom he was only engaged to; engagements were legally binding contracts, unlike engagements today.
The march of the unqualified – Saturday , 3rd Week in Advent – Matthew 1:1-17
The march of the unqualified – Saturday, 3rd Week in Advent – Matthew 1:1-17
We enter now the last lap of the Advent season and the spotlight shifts from the Parousia to the birth of Jesus. For the next nine days we will hear parts of the infancy narrative from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke; the only two Gospel that record the narrative surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ.
Today’s readings look unsparingly at Jesus’ ancestry; it’s called the genealogy. Matthew, writing in a Jewish environment, begins his Gospel of Jesus by tracing the ancestry of Jesus back to the patriarchs. What Matthew is trying to do is to place Jesus’ birth within the context of Jewish history from the time of Abraham up to the birth of Jesus. Genealogies in Scripture always point in some way to the Lord, and the Lord’s choice. Look at this list as a star cast and credits of those involved in this great production. Yet there are surprises in this list of Jesus’ ancestors.
This genealogy spans the whole history of salvation, from Abraham through David, in six groups of 7 names or three groups of fourteen name ( multiples of seven), 7 being the perfect number for Hebrews. The first fourteen names mentioned are those of the patriarchs, people such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The second fourteen are Israel’s kings, especially Kings David and Solomon. The last fourteen are unknowns from Israel’s past who played a vital role in the coming of the Messiah.
This gospel weaves a thread of the long history that eventually brings us to Jesus. Yet when you look closely at this list, especially of David’s descendants, all but three were total disappointments, many of them worshiping false gods. The three that were considered adequate were Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah and Josiah
Writing straight on crooked lines – Wednesday, 3rd week in Advent – Isaiah 45: 6b-8,18,21b-25
