Today’s Scripture Readings

Gospel Reading

NRSV

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. Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do 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 as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’

God has a plan! And this plan, the birth of Jesus to a simple young girl, is the greatest plan ever made. When I read the genealogy of Jesus in this Gospel I was reminded of the intentionality of God. He could have sent Jesus generations earlier, but He waited till the right time and place – and the right woman – to give birth to His Son, our Messiah.

He waited until the world knew it’s need for a saviour. He waited until the people of God yearned for the fulfilment of the promise. And He waited until Mary was ready to give her whole hearted YES to God, making the way for God to literally dwell among us!

I wonder if Mary’s parents knew what great things the Lord had planned for their daughter – would they ever have dared to imagine that Mary would be chosen in this way? And I wonder when Mary knew that His hand was upon her in such a profound way. I imagine she probably felt pretty ordinary most of the time and I think if someone had told her she was to be the mother of God, she might have laughed at the thought! And yet, God saw her, prepared her, and chose her…

I want to be like Mary – I want to be able to live my very ordinary life, open to the possibility of God having a great plan for me. So, happy birthday Mumma Mary. Thank you for your “yes”. Teach us to respond to the Father’s invitation as you did!

How is God’s plan unfolding in your life?