I'd like to welcome you to Scriptural Reflections.  In this feature we will examine different passages from the Bible and attempt to apply it to our lives.  Many of us Orthodox are not familiar with the Bible, yet it is essential for our spiritual life.  You’ve got to know the Bible if you want to grow spiritually.  Every time you read the Bible, or hear your priest reading a passage from the Gospel during the Liturgy, ALWAYS ask yourself the following question: what does this passage mean for me living in 2005?  The Bible is NOT a history lesson.  Christ is speaking to you as much as He did to His disciples 2,000 years ago.  The Holy Spirit is still working in the world today.  That’s what this feature is all about: to help you realize that God continues to speak to you through Holy Scripture.  Just like you shower and brush every day (or at least I hope you do), you need to provide yourself with spiritual nourishment every day.  Although we won’t look at a different Scriptural passages everyday, you should take time to read the Bible every day, even if it’s only for five minutes.  Why?  The One Who created you wants a relationship with you and we all know that a relationship requires communication.  When we read the Bible, we can be assured that God is communicating to us.

Matthew 1:1-17

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

 1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. 4 Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6 and Jesse begot David the king.

   David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife[a] of Uriah. 7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.[b] 8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. 9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon,[c] and Amon begot Josiah. 11 Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.
12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14 Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15 Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

REFLECTION:

Okay, I don’t know about you guys, but there are a few things that go through my mind when I hear this passage.  First of all, I feel sorry for the priest when he has to read all these names during the Liturgy.  Amminadab?  Zerubbabel?  That’s rough.  Secondly, I have no idea who these people are.  Third, why do we need to hear all these names?  Why do these people matter for us?

What everyone does know is that these people are ancestors of Jesus Christ.  Each one of these people played a role in Christ’s coming into the world.  Still, you’re probably wondering what these people are all about.  It’d take too much time to go through all these individuals, but I’ll mention a couple.  You’d be surprised as to what kind of people were Jesus’ ancestors.  They were not perfect.  In fact, some were dishonest and downright shady, like Jacob, who stole his brother Esau’s birthright (see the story in Genesis 27).  Or, what about Judah, who ended up selling his brother Joseph into slavery?  (Genesis 37).  I used to get in trouble for hurting my younger brother when we wrestled and Judah ends up being part of Jesus’ ancestral line even though he sold his brother into slavery.  Are you kidding me?  Why wasn’t Joseph picked to be part of Jesus’ geneaology?  I mean, it was Joseph who had mercy on his brothers who sold him into slavery and forgave them!  He seems to be someone who would be part of Jesus’ lineage, not Judah!  There are also other individuals who are far from perfect too—King David, Tamar and Rahab, but time prevents us from going into their stories.

Now, as for the people who are in between Shealtiel and Joseph (vv.12-16), they’re pretty mysterious.  We really have no idea who they were.  They are the unknowns.  Yet, despite being unknown, they were Jesus’ ancestors and play a role in Christ’s entry into the world.

So, what does all of this mean for us?

I think this passage has a couple of points for us to consider.  The first point is that God enters the world through people who are imperfect, like Jacob or Judah.  You may not consider yourselves worthy to be chosen as the disciples of Christ.  You may think that God would never choose you to be part of His team or His family.  Well, you know what?  I’m sure St Paul felt the same way when Christ chose Him.  Just in case you forgot, St. Paul persecuted Christians before he became one of the greatest Apostles of all time.  St. Peter denied Jesus THREE times before he became one of the greatest too.  The Samaritan woman who Christ encountered at Jacob’s well had five husbands and was with a man who was not her husband.  She ended up bringing many people to Christ.  All these people were far from perfect when Jesus met them.  Jesus came to them anyways, healed them, taught them, and chose them to share His message with others.  Jesus also chooses you even though you may not be perfect.  Don’t get me wrong; if you’re not living a Christian life, then you do need to “get back on track”.  Those imperfect individuals who I mentioned (like Jacob and Judah) ultimately chose to do God’s will when confronted by God.  What you need to understand is that just because you have made mistakes, God doesn’t give up on you; far from it.  God sees your potential.  It is not your past that defines you, but the decisions that you will choose to make from this point on that will. 

The second point I wanted to share with you about this passage is that Christ enters the world through those who are not famous, powerful, or popular.  In society’s eyes, you may not be well-known or important, but in Christ’s eyes, you are the most important person in the world.  You, my friends, may not believe that your role is that important in this world or in our society, but it is.  You have no idea how much this world needs you.  You have an incredibly important job to do.  I don’t know what careers all of you will eventually choose, or how successful you will be, but never forget that your most important job is to bring Christ into the world.  How do you do that?  Bring Christ into the world by treating people as you would want to be treated; forgive those who have hurt you; love your enemies; help the poor.  The world is in bad shape.  You are the salt and the light of the world.  Live up to your potential and bring Christ into the world.

This is meant to be interactive, so if you want to respond with a question or comment, please feel free to do so.  Send your responses to:  sfyouth@sanfran.goarch.org