Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent

Lectionary: 193

Thus the total number of generations
from Abraham to David
is fourteen generations;
from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;
from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,
fourteen generations.

 W  e live in and through our history; to lose one's history is to lose one's mind. Every word we use has a history; every thought has its precedents. Unlike God, we create nothing out of nothing; and nothing we create is entirely original. If we are always moving into unfamiliar territory, it may be because we've forgotten where we came from and don't know where we are. 

As the disciples of Jesus announced the Good News they were continually reminded that everything he said and did had its precedents in Jewish history, literature, customs, sayings, songs, and rituals. The Lord's only truly original action was to rise from the dead. The words of scripture had suggested such an event although the Hebrew prophets could not imagine it; and they opened the future to that possibility. 

And so we begin the novena of Advent -- its last nine days -- with a quick summary of Jesus's personal lineage. The Living Word did not float down from the sky; it was not found under a rock. The Word made Flesh was born of Mary, in the house of David. He could not be born of any other family or nation because the God of Abraham, Moses, and David had given His Word that the Messiah King would be born of David's line. He would be called a Son of David. 

He could not be born at any other time; it must be born in the fullness of time of an elected people because the personal salvation of every individual entails the healing, cleansing, and re-defining of human history. Despite Stephen Dedalus' sad remark -- "History is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake." -- history must be consecrated in the same manner as the torn, mangled body of Jesus was transformed, consecrated, and divinized by his Resurrection. 

If that is beyond our imagination that only confirms the wonder of God, the limit of our understanding, and the promise of our hope. 

History begins with the hard facts of reality, and often with sordid memories. There are embarrassing rogues in every family tree. If the present is where God works, the past is a memory of his mercy, justice, and penetrating presence. He has neither forgotten nor abandoned us; he has brought us through enormous, impossible difficulties. Unlike the deist's divine watchmaker, our God has attended every ticktock and hiccup. If the past shows little promise, only God's presence in the present can surprise us with hope for the future. 

But there are promises in Jesus' genealogy. his word to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; plus his promise to David, Bathsheba, and Solomon. They must be fulfilled. The beautiful story of Ruth may seem to end with four chapters but it is not complete until Jesus is born in the fullness of time. 

Saint Matthew's genealogy of Jesus demonstrates the wisdom of God with his list of 42 generations. That is, three periods of fourteen generations from Abraham to David, David to the Babylonian Exile, and the Exile to Joseph. Six times seven weeks of years because each week is consecrated by its first day, the Sabbath. Nothing happens by happenstance in God's world; there is no god called Luck.  

The more we understand of history the more we appreciate the time the Lord gives us to turn away from sin and live by the gospel. If time is running out, it's not over yet. Let everything within you watch and wait, for the Lord our God draws near.