My mother told me that a week ago, the first-grade class of St. Francis Catholic School in Lagrange, Illinois, came to sing Advent carols to the residents where Mom lives. After singing, these precious children came to the residents’ tables to play Christmas bingo together. Mom said the cutest little girl stood by her and soon asked Mom her name. Mom answered: “My name’s Rosemary, what’s yours?” “Stasia”, she answered. Then Stasia asked Mom how old she was, and Mom said that soon she would be 103 years old. Stasia’s eyes lit up and she said: “For real???” Then she held up 6 fingers and said: “I’m only 6 years old!”
This wonderful encounter between Mom and little Stasia shows the marvel of longevity from two perspectives…Stasia looking forward to life with wonder and Mom looking back at life with wisdom.
Such was our gospel experience today as well. When we heard Jesus’ genealogy, we can look back with wisdom at the promises of a Messiah God made to us beginning with Abraham, and we can also look forward in wonder to celebrating not only the coming of Jesus in time at Christmas, but also to his second coming at a time we do not know.
What we heard in our gospel was Jesus’ ancestry, his lineage. Despite the odd and unfamiliar names to us of these men and 4 women, many of these people would have been very familiar to the Jewish people who had studied their Torah. Matthew was proving to his Jewish listeners that, indeed, Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise that the Savior would descend from the line of King David.
Put yourself in Matthew’s listeners sandals. What they were hearing summed up all their spiritual hopes and expectations. All their lives, they had been studying the sacred writings and had heard God’s consistent promise after promise since the time of Abraham that a Savior would come. This list of names was their spiritual family. To think this promise would happen in their lifetime must have been amazing and astounding to many of them.
We have the blessing of looking back over time with wisdom and seeing how Jesus’ ancestry played out, despite some of the individuals’ flaws and failings. Isaac was a good man; Jacob was a deceiver. No matter who they were, they all belonged to God and were used for salvation history, our history.
We also have the opportunity to be in wonder again this Christmas as we celebrate Jesus’ long-awaited birth. Knowing the miracle that Jesus, the Son of God, became human and one of us, could we stand at the crib on Christmas morning and, with all our heart and soul, take a lesson from little Stasia and exclaim with awe: “For real???”
