Genealogy is not merely a list of names. Names help us to imagine faces of persons with stories. They represent generations forming history. History is an interweaving of ‘individual stories.’ Thus, the genealogy of Jesus means, ‘Jesus has a story and history’. Jesus family tree is a ‘Tree of Salvation’. Genealogy presents Jesus’ human ancestry, indicating that salvation history has reached its climax with the birth of the Son of God through Mary by the working of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus’ Genealogy uses two titles for Jesus namely, ‘Son of Abraham’ and ‘Son of David’. Son of Abraham means that he is a member of the chosen people in accordance with God’s promise to multiply his generation. ‘Son of David’ means that Messiah would come from the lineage of King David in accordance with God’s promise to him.
Jesus’ genealogy is a mixture of saints and sinners. Abraham was a man of faith, but he lied, “Sarah is my sister” (Gn. 20:2). Judah, the son of Jacob had a child in his daughter-in law. David was a devout King but happened to be an adulterer. Solomon had amazing wisdom but was a womanizer. Tamar was a Canaanite widow and a prostitute who became the mother of Perez from her father-in law Judah. Rahab the mother of Boaz was a prostitute. Ruth, who was a Moabite widow, had an adulterous union with Boaz. Bethsheba the wife of Uriah was seduced by King David.
Inclusion of sinners with saints in the genealogy of Jesus reveals a mysterious aspect of incarnation. Jesus has fully entered human family of frailties. He has taken to himself our humanity to share with us his divinity. He became a man (Son of Man) so that we may become sons and daughters of God.
He is fully human and divine. By entering human family through incarnation God has opened for humanity a way to enter God’s family through the lineage of Jesus. By becoming members of the Church, the mystical body of Christ through baptism, we are becoming members of the genealogy of Jesus. It is a family that surpass natural linage. Amen.
Fr. Jerry Vallomkunnel MCBS