Today’s Scripture Readings

Gospel Reading

NRSV

— Matthew — 1 — 1 An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

Matthew begins his gospel with a list of names, a genealogy. At first glance, this might seem like something to skim past. However, this passage is a rich theological statement about who Jesus is and how God moves through history.

Matthew’s gospel presents Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah, the chosen one. By tracing Jesus’ lineage back to David, the great king, Matthew reveals that Jesus fulfils the ancient hope: a king who would bring about God’s reign of justice and peace. By tracing Jesus’ ancestry to Abraham, Matthew reminds us that Jesus also fulfils God’s covenant, a promise of blessings for all nations.

Yet the genealogy tells a deeper story. God’s promise is fulfilled not through the perfection of Jesus’ ancestors but through people who are real, flawed, forgotten, and faithful. Jesus’ family tree includes those who are great but also those who struggled, were weak, and sinned. Matthew also lists the names of four remarkable women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba, whose presence speaks of courage, pain, and hope on the margins.

This lineage reminds us of something essential: that God’s grace is not hindered by human imperfection. In fact, God chooses to work through it. As the scholar Raymond Brown says, “God writes straight with crooked lines.” Jesus is the Son of God, but he came from a very human family. His coming does not erase the messiness of history and life, but rather, redeems it.

Advent invites us to take our place in that unfolding story. Like those who came before us, we are called to walk with God, not in perfection but trust. To be real and to be open to grace.

Just as Jesus fully entered into our human story, he continues to enter our lives now, still weaving grace and redemption through ordinary, broken, and beloved people like us.