Trouble in the Family Tree. A sermon preached on the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew on December 16, 2018 at St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Prince George, BC by Rev. Herb Hilder Texts: MATTHEW 1:12-17 MATTHEW 28:16-20 This morning s reading from Matthew 1 contains yet another list of names from Jesus family tree. Some of them are familiar: Zerubbabel, Zadok and Joseph. Most though are unfamiliar And as Dan correctly stated last week in regular Scrabble you cannot use names of people to complete a word An ongoing temptation in spending this long with Matthew 1 even if it is Jesus family tree is to zone out To conclude plainly and simply Boring One realization though is that this family tree, As all family trees are not filled with perfect people living charmed and perfect lives. Some of the people listed as our 5 ladies last week made clear had very difficult and painful lives. But they are not the only ones who were troubled or caused trouble in the family tree. 1
Solomon s son, Rehobam (vs7) caused a civil war which split the nation in two. Jehoram, Ahaz, Manessah worshipped idols and practiced sorcery. Salathiel, Abraid, Azor, Eluid just names listed we know little about them. Yet, they are the father of someone. They are connected. They are not just anchored in midair any more than Jesus is. They are part and parcel of the 14 generations from Abraham to David, The 14 generations from David to the nation s deportation to Babylon And the 14 generations from the end of the Babylonian captivity to the Messiah. So again, what do this morning s readings say to us today? Yes, the tree is important to Matthew and Matthew s first audience to anchor Jesus in a family of substance and import, For Matthew s first readers were Jews, and the Jewish people have always and continue to put great importance upon where one has come from, where does one fit on a particular family tree But we are not Jewish and this is not first century Palestine. 2
What IS the significance of Matthew to Christians to you and me today? What DOES the text say to God s people today? I think it is a significant reminder that human history, cannot, nor will it stop God s story. To read the Old Testament is to realize that Israel was more often under siege or at war with surrounding Empires than it was at peace. The Empires of Babylonia, Assyrian, Syria and Egypt all took turns conquering Israel and subjecting its people to military occupation. Under the Assyrians, the 10 northern tribes were taken into exile, never to return. The Babylonians took Judah into exile. This was the time of the writing of Psalm 137 By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. 2 On the willows [a] there we hung up our harps. 3 For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion! 4 How could we sing the LORD s song in a foreign land? [Psalm 137:1-4] In time, the Persians let the people return to a destroyed homeland, but the Persians were still in charge. 3
Through all this then some foreign dictator or absolute monarch like Pharaoh in Egypt was forever oppressing the people. Between the Old and New Testaments, Alexander the Great and the Greeks replaced the Persians For a brief period 100 years the Promised Land was ruled by the Jews, under the Maccabees. Yet this freedom was short lived, for it ended when the Maccabee family fought each other. Each side invited the Romans in to quell the other. The Romans came... and never left. AS a result all of the New Testament is written during a time of Roman military occupation. And beyond the canonization of the Scripture one has the receding light of the church with the fall of the Roman Empire and the resultant barbarian invasions across Europe where the Christian church recedes very much into the background But the monasteries, followers of the Rule of St. Benedict kept he promises of scripture alive by faith. And today, in this post Christendom world in which we live many tell us that the churches in a free fall position And yet, God s story continues to be told and retold In fact the Good News is spreading faster in places where it faces hardship and persecution. 4
That has always been the case by the way Persecution and hardship never undermine God s story as much as does apathy and indifference. I remember speaking to a colleague some years ago, Who was minister of a very affluent church in a very affluent city During the course of our conversation, he said to me, Herb, the greatest danger in the congregation I presently serve is affluence. How he continued, do you tell someone who can buy anything and everything that they need Jesus. Though things like apathy and abundance can Slow down God s story, God s story cannot and will not be stopped Hear again that affirmation Karenza read from Isaiah. All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the LORD blows upon it; surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.[isaiah 40:6-8] So human history, powerful people, those with a heightened sense of their own importance Those who never met a mirror they did not like 5
6 Will not stop God s story. Another reminder from Matthew s family tree of Jesus is that our story cannot stop God s story. Family trees are complicated Looking back at the past can be painful Families have addictions, abuse, mental illness, tragic deaths, unexpected and sometimes unwanted pregnancies, unhappy marriages ending in divorce Or ought to have ended in divorce. Often behind a lot of us there is a troubled family tree. Look at Jesus family tree. The instant he was born, he inherited a past with problems There were some evil kinds and some good kings. The Old Testament biggies like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David and Solomon were at times prideful, cowardly, deceptive, jealous and vengeful. We talked about the 5 ladies of the family tree last week Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary all experienced disorientation, brokenness and pain. But such things did not disqualify or somehow remove them from Jesus bloodline. Brokenness, pain, disorientation from whatever the circumstances does not automatically remove us or disqualify any of us from God s love.
If any of us conclude that we could never be part of God s story, That God does not care for me look at what I have or have not done look at the family tree of Jesus. Tamar resorting to deception to save herself Rahab a prostitute David an adulterer and murderer Look at the wider story in scripture Paul=--a persecutor of the early church until his conversion when he became its first missionary. Look at the disciples a rag bag of people who kept missing the point of Jesus ministry until the Resurrection and the Ascension Look at those saints of the church who lived over the centuries until now John Newton slave trader, turned Anglican priest who never forgot the saving power of Jesus Christ, C.S. Lewis academic atheist turned Christian whose writings will continue to influence generations beyond ours, owing to their incisive observations on living out the Christian way in today s world. The family tree of Jesus shows that no one is beyond redemption and salvation through Jesus NO ONE! God is active in each of our lives. 7
Usually His activity and involvement is most clearly seen as we look behind us and see what only God could have affected or made possible. Katharine and I term this signposts behind us. Certainly there are times and places, people and situations in which we see God working in the here and now. But I believe we realize God s involvement in our lives most clearly as we look behind us as we reflect on events that have happened, God was in this place. His hand was guiding my actions or decisions. Now, I understand a bit more why I had to wait; Why what I thought would be best was not; Why what I thought what was a bad idea, turned out better than I could ever have imagined. I believe there is another reminder for us from the family tree of Jesus It is an invitation to let his story become our story. I have been marking Advent as a parish minister for 38 years now and many before that. While it is a busy and demanding time, owing to the extra services and balancing parish, family and self-care, I have found special hope this year in the message of Advent. The plans and purpose of God are larger, longer acting, and more stable than the current chaos, 8
instability and lack of civility that are so much with us today, This Advent I have been reminded afresh that evil will not in the end triumph, God continues to hold us in the palms of his Hands God s plans and purpose may not always evident 24/7, But the family tree of Jesus and beyond reminds us that God is here and he is not silent! Vain hope, wishful thinking? I think not, for God s power has great leverage greater than the current crop of world leaders Powerful people, in whatever field they hold their power do not last forever. And yes they may and often do wreak havoc during the time they exert their power. But this does not last forever In God s time love does trump hate; God s order chaos, God s grace-spite; and God s mercy-revenge. Each Advent, you, me, all of us are invited again, or for the first time into Jesus birth story. To ponder these things as Mary did. To look with wonder at Baby Jesus as the shepherds did. To worship as the Wise Men did Easy to do? NOPE We have to decide to make time to ponder, to look with wonder, to worship and to follow this Jesus 9
not only some of the time or when we feel like it--- but all of the time. Such cannot be done unless we stop to pause and reflect. And stop being so absorbed in the material world the world of acquiring stuff. The call and the challenge remain ever before us. How then shall we respond to this Jesus, Who has already chosen us? AMEN 10