December 17/Third Friday of Advent
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. . . Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. ~ Matt. 1.1, 3, 5, 6
It mattered a great deal to the Jews in Jesus’ time that their longed-for Messiah could claim descent from King David. Establishing Christ’s royal lineage was critical to establishing his identity as Israel’s anointed one, who would restore the Davidic dynasty. But why should it matter to us that Jesus is a king? Today’s Gospel passage challenges our imaginations and calls us to broaden our concept of kingliness. While the first reading and the psalm both portray royal traits of dominance and judgment, Matthew carefully assembles Jesus’s family tree to draw a different portrait of what a king is. His account of Christ’s ancestry includes four mothers. While not unprecedented, this is an unusual number of females to appear in a line of descent. These are not just any mothers: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba were not only outside the Davidic line, in most cases they were not even Jews. Moreover, as one commentator drily noted, “their stories do not fit comfortably into traditional patterns of sexual morality” (Tamar seduced her father-in-law, Rahab was a prostitute, and the “wife of Uriah” was Bathsheba, with whom David carried on an adulterous affair). Yet these were women whose resourcefulness, faith, and creativity in the face of adversity led to a better future: Tamar’s seduction perpetuated the line of Jesus’s forebear Judah; Rahab helped Joshua’s spies escape. The Moabite Ruth, loyally following her widowed mother-in-law to Israel, had an encounter with Boaz on the threshing floor that led to marriage and family continuity. Like Mary, the mother of Christ, they said “yes” to God when it mattered. Seen through this lens, “kingliness” is defined by how one responds to life’s circumstances. Those who give their hopeful, open-ended assent to God even in times of trial are true members of the “royal family.”
Almighty God, Help me to respond faithfully to all the situations of my life, trusting in you, my king and my Lord. Amen.
To hear The Schola Cantorum of St. Peter’s in the Loop (Chicago) sing “Hail to the Lord’s Anointed,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6dGmfAL5DY&t=46s
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121722.cfm
