The Family Tree of Jesus

My topic today is the family tree of Jesus.

Today’s Second Reading told us that Jesus was a descendant of David in the flesh, meaning he was fully human and had a family tree just as we do. The family tree of Jesus contains the names of several people who had great faith, such as Abraham and Sarah, Rebecca and Isaac, Rachel and Jacob, and Mary and Joseph. However, it also includes people who had very little faith, like Tamar and Judah, Rahab and Joshua, and David and Bathsheba. Their stories are interesting and show how God sometimes acts in mysterious ways.

Judah and his wife had two sons, but these sons died young and left no children. Tamar knew Judah needed a male descendant to keep the family tree alive, so she disguised herself as a prostitute and visited Judah. He paid her for her companionship, and she gave birth to twin boys, thus keeping the line of descendants intact when it seemed about to end. Later, Tamar revealed what she had done, and when people called her “naughty,” she replied, “I’m not as naughty as Judah, your spiritual leader, your great patriarch. Remember, he paid me to do it.” In this way, Tamar and Judah preserved the family line.

Rahab and Joshua’s story is also notable. Rahab did not pretend to be a prostitute—she was one by profession. Scripture says Rahab, the harlot, married Joshua and gave birth to Boaz, ensuring the line of patriarchs going back to Abraham was not broken. Another story involves David and Bathsheba, who committed adultery and conspired to have Bathsheba’s husband killed in battle. Years later, they became the parents of Solomon, and the line of kingship for the house of Judah continued.

Tamar and Judah, Rahab and Joshua, David and Bathsheba—these characters from Jesus’ family tree were not always exemplary people. They had only a little faith and some questionable behaviors, which are mentioned openly in scripture. In those days, there was no cover-up; there was full transparency because the sacred authors believed God was present in the story and would find a use for these people in the divine plan.

This fact should comfort us. Despite our human weaknesses, sinfulness, and weak faith, we still have value in God’s sight. We have great value in the eyes of God, not because we deserve it, but because God is kind and merciful. The family tree of Jesus is a chronicle of God’s grace intervening to save the day. There is good news in that story: it tells us what God is like. God does not run away from sinful situations or people with weak faith. As St. Paul said in Romans 5:8, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” If Christ had to wait for us to stop sinning, he would still be waiting. God’s grace appears in the midst of sin, which is the good news St. Paul gave us in Romans 5. Now and always, God’s grace is working in the midst of sin. Our faith might be weak, and our sin might be great, but God’s grace is much more powerful than our sin. The power of God’s grace is so great that it wipes out our sin.

In today’s First Reading, King Ahaz refused to believe that “the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.” King Ahaz was a member of Jesus’ family tree and lacked faith, but that was not a problem for God. In the fullness of time, God caused the Virgin to conceive and bear a son, as recounted in today’s gospel. The angel said to Joseph in a dream, “Through the Holy Spirit Mary has conceived. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” The phrase, “The Virgin Mother longed for him with love beyond all telling,” though not found in scripture, beautifully describes Mary, the final branch of Jesus’ family tree. You will hear those words in the Preface for today’s Mass.

Today, as we wait for the Second Coming of Christ, we should long for him with love beyond all telling.