2nd Day Simbang Gabi (December 17, 2022)

Genealogy of Jesus – Then What?

After hearing the genealogy of our Lord Jesus, so what now? Many find this part of the Gospel less interesting. Maybe because most of the names are not so familiar at all. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, Solomon and some others are perhaps known to us. But Zerubbabel, Shealtiel, Achim, Eliakim, Jechoniah, Matthan, etc., who are they? Unless maybe we are scholars of the Sacred Scriptures. However, even with the limited knowledge of the Bible that we have, we can say that our Lord Jesus does not descend from a perfect family. Generations before Him were composed of righteous and godly persons together with the not worthy imitating ancestors. Jacob was a deceiver. King David was an adulterer, rapist, and a murderer. Rahab was a prostitute. Judah planned to kill his youngest sibling, Joseph. Ahaz, the worst king of Israel burned his son alive as an offering. Solomon, who is considered to be the wisest and righteous king of Israel has his own share of wickedness – he has many pagan wives and he even built altars for the gods of his wives.

Though Jesus is sinless and perfect, his family line has never been. It is for this reason that he came – to save sinners not the righteous, to heal those who are sick not the healthy, to find those who are lost not those who are found. Jesus came to save our humanity, lift up our dignity, redeem our family.

Today, we are being reminded that no one has the perfect family – not even the family of our Lord. However, our past does not define the kind of life that we are going to live. The Lord tells us that for a family that is broken, let us bring harmony; infested by infidelities, let us bring faithfulness; hurt by pride, let us bring humility; wounded by sin, let is bring healing and forgiveness; gone into despair, let us bring hope. A family where everyone loves and respects each other, where understanding and forgiveness thrive, no space for indifference and no one is left behind.

The past of our family is beyond our control and it is something that we should not be ashamed of. Rather it is something that we have to accept, embraced, let go and let God. After all, perfect family does not exist. Jesus Himself was not ashamed to embrace our miserable and sinful humanity. What matters the most is how we respond to the not so edifying history of our family. Have we learned the lessons from the mistakes or we will just sprout as the new rotten branch of our family tree?

Many things will affect, mould, or change us but we will always go back to where we begin – our family. Nobody chooses his/her own family, it is God’s gift to us as we are to them, says Desmond Tutu.  Mother Teresa said – “if you want to change the world, go home and love your family.” May you have a holy celebration of the Christmas season with your family and with the Church, the family of God.