All of us come from somewhere. All of us have a background that can be traced throughout history. We know the names of our parents and of our grandparents, but even beyond the family members whose names that we know there are many names that are unknown to us. Each person who lies inside of our family tree has a great history behind them sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad. Our Gospel this evening is a tough one because someone of course must pronounce these names and we must also listen to a never ending litany of these names of people who we don't know. Nevertheless this is a very important Gospel and thus it is fitting that it is read at this Mass. This family tree is showing that all of creation is pointing towards the coming of the Messiah. As all these names are being directed towards the coming of Christ, so it should be with all the generations that come after. Through God taking on human flesh, like you and like me, we have been transformed and forever directed towards salvation.
We know that Adam was the first man and yet we notice that his name does not appear at the start of this list. Instead our Gospel writer begins with Abraham who according to the Roman Canon of the Mass is our father in faith. Abraham is the perfect starting place because it was through him that it was promised that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the sky. With this Gospel we see the fruits of that promise begin to take hold throughout the reality of creation. Every name that appears upon this list, good or bad, leads themselves towards Christ which is only possible through the covenant with God that Abraham was willing to enter into. As we reflect upon Abraham, our father in faith, may we continue in our own desire to grow in faith. It is easy for our faith to become something that is stale and thus allow it to lose its glimmer inside of our lives. With Christmas comes the birth of Christ and the joy that is extended into our lives for each of us to recommit ourselves to our faith in Him.
As we move through the many generations from Abraham to Christ we of course come to encounter Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary. These two individuals are very important inside of the life of our faith. It was Mary who gave her "yes" to an angel and thus conceived Christ into her womb. It was Joseph who gave his "yes" to God and thus would accept to raise Christ in his childhood. The journey that we know these two individuals made to the manger was not easy and was filled with many set backs. After all there was no room found inside of the inn. Despite all of this they continued to move forward in their life of faith and in the lowliness of that manger he who is fully divine and fully human came to dwell among us. Each of us here can make our own list of the many ways that our life has not gone as we would wish. Maybe this is due to our marital situation, a poor grade that was made in school, a job that leaves us feeling empty, the loss of a loved one, or an argument that we had with a parent or friend.
No matter what these feelings may be like we should realize that God loves each of us dearly. For that reason our genealogy comes to its conclusion with the coming of the Christ. We notice a profound statement of truth because Joseph is not listed as being the father of Jesus. Instead we are told that he was born of Mary. In this verse we realize that this child who dwells inside of the manger is not only human, but is also God. This means that God knows each of our pains and realizes the brokenness that comes through our sin. Instead of allowing us to remain lost in our pains or in our sin He chose to take on human flesh and to come to this earth to dwell among us. It is for this reason that we join together on this Christmas evening as people have done since the birth of Christ. We gather like the shepherds or the wise men around the lowly manger and proclaim our faith that a great king dwells here in the same simplicity that many of us must endure inside of our lives.
All of our lives have a very complex past and future. No matter what our past has been there is always the hope of new life. As this genealogy of Jesus shows the complexity that led to the birth of Christ, so may we realize that our lives are equally drawn to this moment in history. The birth of Christ echoes for us a great joy that should not only be lived out one day a year, but instead for each moment of our lives. Our faith is a never ending commitment where we desire to strip away our sin and instead embrace the Lord's manger with our "yes" equal to that given by Mary at the Annunciation or by Joseph when he accepted to raise the Christ. At this Christmas Mass may we also embrace with humility our future with that "yes" which allows our life to be entirely drawn towards God.
Very soon we will leave this Church behind and gifts will be opened (our many children present know that), but may we also always remember the greatest gift that was known to humanity was found in a manger and from this experience comes our own call to conversion. May we not allow our relationship with our Lord to rot away like some old Christmas tree, but instead may we continue to nourish our life of faith with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass where we receive He who is both fully human and fully divine into our lives through our reception of Christ's Body and Blood. May this Christmas season truly lead us to the manger of Christ where all generations were and will be led towards; only here will we find our joy.
No comments:
Post a Comment