Wednesday of the Third Week of Advent

 

O Wisdom of our God Most High,
guiding creation with power and love:
come to teach us the path of knowledge!

Lectionary: 193

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac. And Isaac begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Judas and his brethren. (Douay-Rheims version)

Dear Reader, please bear with my preference for the word begot. When I was in school, we were taught to prefer the indicative mood over the subjunctive. And I don't know how a man passively becomes the father of anyone, except by adopting someone who is already begotten.

Begetting is the very active business of one who intends, with his wife, to generate children. And in the case of Saint Matthew's ancestry of Jesus, the faithful recognize the deliberate activity of God the Father in the series of fathers who begot sons. This is not a good time in America for emasculating men and their responsibility as husbands, fathers, and begetters of children. 

Saint Matthew's extensive genealogy leads us into a deeper experience of Advent. We cannot ignore the encroaching darkness as each day grows shorter. We feel the chill of winter coming over the land and our helplessness before its relentless progress. We need a God who will deliver us from a cold , evil darkness; and He must act soon as our situation worsens daily. 

Saint Matthew's genealogy reassures us with its deliberate cadence and structure. Something, a mighty work of God, is about to happen! 

There are forty-two fathers named, and the list is divided into three ages. First, there is the memory of Abraham and his son Isaac; who begot Jacob, the father of twelve sons. Fourteen generations are named. It's a familiar story to everyone and it draws our attention away from the danger of the present moment. The first fourteen ends with the story of David, who begot Solomon. It is a story of increasing glory and power, reminding us of our fervent hope that God might restore our former greatness.

"All nations will gather together there to honor the name of the LORD at Jerusalem, and they will no longer stubbornly follow their wicked heart." (Jeremiah 3:17)

Matthew's next fourteen recall the sad story of the sins of our fathers, and their persistent, worsening infidelity. How could that story not end in an unspeakable tragedy as Jerusalem was repeatedly assaulted and finally collapsed under the Babylonian armies? 

And then there are fourteen generations of obscurity, of unknown fathers who remembered God's promises and begot unknown sons. But we know this story is going somewhere; and, had we seen the pattern, we might have expected the last generation to reveal a mighty work of God. 

Finally, in a most wonderful way, Joseph becomes the father of Jesus when he obeys God's command to,

...take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. (Matt 1:20)

Throughout this account of 41 men, the Greek word has been egennēsen, an active verb meaning begat. Coming to Joseph, the 42nd father, we read its passive form, egennēthē, referring to Mary. The text says: "...Joseph, husband of Mary, out of whom was born Jesus."

Despite our sad history of sin, despite the violence and irrationality that is sometimes associated with begetting, our God has never abandoned us. He has never stopped acting in human history. Nor will he.

We have only to be patient, and make our hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand. (James 5:8-9)