Rev. Debbie Cato
Isaiah 2:1-5; Matthew 1:1-17
Fairfield Community
Church
November 27, 2022
God of the ages, in scripture we hear stories of
people like us— ordinary people, people who longed to know you, people who
longed to follow you, people who made mistakes, people who tried to grow— old,
young, native, immigrant, new to the faith, lifelong believer. In scripture we
hear stories of people like us, so just as you walked with them, help us to
hear and remember all the ways that you walk with us. We are listening. We are
grateful. We are yours. Amen.
There’s Room for Every Story
Today is the first Sunday of Advent,
this season of waiting. We are waiting
for the birth of the Christ child. I love this season of the liturgical
calendar. This season of
anticipation. This season of wonder and hope.
This year our Advent theme is “From Generation to Generation.” The root word of “generation” is “gen” meaning “origin” or “birth.” This theme is also a call to action: what are we being called to generate or bring forth? What have your ancestors and those who have come before you passed on for you to continue? Who are the spiritual elders in our community who planted the seeds for the things that are now blooming? What seeds are you planting for the future?[1] What seeds are we, Fairfield Community Church planting for the future? These are questions for us to think about; to ponder as we enter into these four weeks of Advent; these four weeks of waiting.
I loved going to my Grandma Potter’s house – for many reasons, really. But one of the reasons was she had a chest full of old pictures up in her attic and she would go through the pictures with me and tell me stories about my ancestors, her parents and grandparents and other family members that I had never met. She would tell me stories about her childhood, growing up so many years before me. She would pull out a picture and I could tell she disappeared into her history, and she would begin to talk. I loved those times with Grandma. Learning about her story which was part of my story.
Who is Jesus Christ? We don’t ever really get a complete answer to that question, do we? Matthew’s Gospel begins not with a beautiful manger scene like Luke, but with an attempt to articulate a comprehensive answer to who Jesus was. Matthew’s definition of who Jesus is begins with a genealogy. No other Gospel author thought it helpful to begin the story in this way, but Matthew begins with Jesus’ family background going back over forty generations. Family history was important in historical times.
Matthew’s intention is clear: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Abraham was called by God to be the father of God’s descendants and David was the legitimate ruler of God’s people. Jesus is the descendent of both and Jesus as the Messiah is the successor of King David over the Jews.
It is also interesting who is included in the genealogy. It is not just men. There are five women listed – extremely unusual since women were inconsequential in those times. Yet we find five women in the genealogy of Jesus. Not just one or two, but five.
First is Tamar. Tamar had a lot of trauma and grief in her life. She was married to two different sons of Judah; both men treated her so badly that God had them killed. Judah thought Tamar killed them and he had her banned from society, unable to marry and therefore bear children. Tamar tricked Judah, her father-in-law, into sleeping with her. She becomes pregnant and gives birth to two boys; Perez and Zerah – both listed in the genealogy of Jesus. Tamar is in the genealogy because she is considered righteous.
Rahab is listed in the genealogy. Before the Israelites cross the Jordan, on their journey to the Promised Land, Joshua sends men to scout out the land. Arriving in Jericho, they decide to spend the night at the house of the prostitute Rahab. When Jericho’s ruler tries to apprehend them, Rahab hides them and then helps them escape through the window, saving their lives. In return, she and her household are spared the destruction of Jericho and become part of the people of Israel. In spite of her past as a prostitute, Rahab is included in the genealogy of Jesus.
Perhaps you know the story of Ruth. There is an Old Testament Book named after her. Ruth was a Moabite woman who married an Israelite. Moabites were enemies of Israel. After the death of all the male members of her family (her husband, her father-in-law, and her brother-in-law), she stays with her mother-in-law, Naomi, and moves to Judah with her, where Ruth wins the love and protection of a wealthy relative, Boaz, through her kindness. Ruth gave birth to Obed who fathered Jesse, who fathered King David. And though Ruth was a Moabite and not an Israelite, she is included in the genealogy of Jesus.
And then of course there is Mary. A poor, humble 13-year-old teenager who gave birth to the Christ child. A girl from Nazareth where scripture tells us, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” is included in the genealogy of Jesus because she was obedient to the Holy Spirit, and though she didn’t understand how it could be possible, she became pregnant while a virgin and gave birth to the Messiah.
And then there’s the men. Abraham got tired of waiting for God to fulfill his promise and so he had sex with his Sarah’s maid and had a son with her. Then when Sarah got jealous, he sent her away with his son – banishing her.
We’ve already talked about David – who had one of his soldiers murdered so that he could take his wife as his own.
And Joseph, the human father of Jesus. Like Mary, Joseph was from humble means from Bethlehem, a small village similar to Nazareth. Joseph was a carpenter, most likely like his father before him. As a carpenter, he made furniture or maybe even farming implements. He was not a man of great wealth or stature. He was engaged to Mary who became impregnated by the Holy Spirit. Explained in a dream about the pregnancy, Joseph went ahead and married Mary and raised Jesus as his earthly son. And because of Joseph’s righteousness, all God’s prophesies in the Old Testament came true about the Messiah.
I could go on and on through this genealogy. Each person has a story – each generation a story of trauma and shame; of good and bad; of redemption by God. Each person included in the genealogy of Christ because there’s room for their story in God’s story. Each person quite ordinary.
And so are you. Whatever your story is – the good and the bad. The proud moments and the not so proud. The trauma, the shame, the celebrations – all of it. It’s who you are. And you too are a beloved child of God. Loved beyond your imagination. You are part of God’s story. We are all part of God’s story.
There is room for every story. Every one of ours. God has a way of taking our stories and turning them into his. He has a calling on our lives just like he did on Tamar and Rahab and Ruth and Bathsheba and Mary. Like he did on Abraham and David and Joseph. Every one of us has a place in God’s story.
We may not even know what that place is. I don’t think that Tamar or Rahab or Ruth or Bathsheba or even Mary or Joseph understood their roles so why would we? But our stories are bigger and better than we realize. We have a purpose, bigger than us. We, each and every one of us, and all of us together, we are part of God’s story. May we each live for the glory of God. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment