Matthew 1: 1-25
[Now is proclaimed the beginning of the whole
Gospel, according to Matthew in the first chapter.]
This is the book of the
new creation, which has happened through Jesus Christ [or, the generation of
Jesus Christ], a son of David, who is a son of Abraham.
Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
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| Jacob's Ladder, Blake |
Judah the father of Perez and
Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of
Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
Salmon the father of Boaz, whose
mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose
mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
and Jesse the father of King
David.
David was the father of
Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of
Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
and Josiah the father of
Jeconiah[c] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of
Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of
Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,
Abihud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Elihud,
Elihud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
and Jacob the father of Joseph,
the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the
Messiah.
From Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David to the
deportation to Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the exile in Babylon
to Christ are fourteen generations.
“Joseph, son of David, do not be
afraid to take Mary as your wife, because that which is to be born of her is
conceived out of the power of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you
shall give him the name Jesus, that is, the Bringer of Healing, for he it will
be who will heal his own of their error and guilt. “
All this took place so that the word of the Lord, spoken by the mouth of
the prophet, might be fulfilled:
“A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and they will call his name
Immanuel, that is, God in our midst.”
Now when Joseph rose from his sleep he did as the angel of the Lord
directed him, and he took Mary to himself as his wife, and he knew her not
until she bore her son, and he gave him the name Jesus.
December
25, 2008
Christmas I, Midnight
Matthew 1:1, and 17-25
Last summer, the plants began flowering in the long days of
summer. The seeds, warmed in the chalice of the blossom, were raised to the
light of the sun. And now those seeds dwell in the darkness of earth. Meanwhile
the longest night has arrived. And yet, nevertheless, the sunlight is
victorious over the dark. The sun is already sending its living light to quicken
the seeds. Had we the proper eyes, we would see the first glimmerings of the
spark of life around them.
Our souls too had their origins in sun-bright realms. We too
have descended into the chaos of dark earth night.
Tonight, in the darkness of longest night, our souls awaken
to the victory of light over the darkness. In deep earth night we feel the
quickening. New life is streaming into the earth, and into our souls; for the
Sun-God is descending from heights of heaven to depths of earth, bringing us
the light of hope.
Tonight the Christ-Light is once again born in the realm of
earth.
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| J. Schmid |
He is…
the fountain of all lights, and
sends
them flowing without fail,
especially
the Light we cannot name, nor
grasp,
forever racing far beyond our wits,
so that, with strong desire, we
might struggle all the more to
touch
what extends so far beyond us.[1]
He brings the promise that our darkness will be overcome; he
brings to light a new life.
It is by sharing the Life that Is
that every soul is quickened.[2]
He brings us His Light, so that human souls will fill
themselves with the radiance of His good will; that human souls will radiate
the light and warmth of His peace into the dark turbulence of our time.
[1]
St. Gregory of Nazianzos, “Spiritual Being”, in Love’s Immensity, Mystics on the Endless Life, by Scott Cairns, p.
38.
[2]
St. Irenaeus, (125 – 210), “The Human Person”, in Love’s Immensity, Mystics on the Endless Life, by Scott Cairns, p.
6.
