3RD WEEK OF ADVENT

Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. 

In the Old Testament, a genealogy was normally traced through the male members of a family. Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus in today’s Gospel is no exception. But along with all the men from Abraham to St. Joseph, he also mentions five important women.

Of course, we’re not surprised at the last one, the Virgin Mary. But we may wonder about the other four, especially since each was grafted into Jesus’ family tree in an irregular way. Let’s take a look.

Tamar had married Judah’s oldest son. When he died childless, she married another of Judah’s sons, but he also died. Judah balked at giving her in marriage to his youngest son. So she disguised herself, seduced Judah, and bore a son from him (Genesis 38:6-30).

Rahab was a pagan prostitute in the city of Jericho who hid two Israelite spies from Jericho’s king. She helped the spies leave the city safely, and they promised to save her—and all her family—when they came back to conquer Jericho (Joshua 2:1-21; 6:22-25).

Ruth was a widow from a mixed marriage. A Moabite, she married an Israelite who had fled famine into Moab. When her husband died, Ruth left her country and went with her mother-in-law to Bethlehem. In the end, she married a relative of her husband and became the grandmother of King David (Ruth 1:1–4:22).

Bathsheba was a beautiful woman married to one of King David’s generals. When the king had her husband killed so he could take her as his wife, she became the mother of King Solomon (2 Samuel 11-12).

When you look at your family tree and begin to feel unqualified to be part of Jesus’ family, remember Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. Remember these women who were honored to be forebears of Christ. Let the Lord show you how he can use your distinctive background, as he did theirs. You just might see how your unique story can help you bring Jesus to the world.

“Jesus, thank you that I am made part of your family through Baptism.”

Genesis 49:2, 8-10
Psalm 72:1-4, 7-8, 17
Matthew 1:1-17