There's Room for Every Story
Advent 2022: From Generation to Generation • Sermon • Submitted
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· 1 viewFrom A Sanctified Art: Our series begins with Matthew’s genealogy. In that long list of names, we remember the trauma and triumph of those who came before; each name holds a story and their story gives way to Christ’s story. When you zoom in, you may not be able to see how each character propels the story forward, but when you zoom out, you can see how each story is woven together into a larger tapestry. The Isaiah passage illustrates a convergence of opposing groups and identities coming together. Instead of the way of the past—of war—they learn a new way by transforming their weapons into gardening tools. What are the old paths that we’ve followed, and where must we diverge into a new way?
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1 An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, 4 and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
Who is in your lineage, your story?
Ancestry.com and other services like it. Finding out background.
Looking back to look forward.
This Advent, we’re following along with the story of Jesus’ lineage in order to get a full picture of where he comes from and what his life means in the context of God’s unfolding story. Jesus’ birth is a miraculous, once in all time event. AND yet, it is also a part of a much grander, wider narrative, a story God is writing that even includes us. So to situate Jesus’ story in the lineage of God’s people, which the hearers of this gospel would have known.
14 generations X 3 — 6 X 7
Six sets of seven generations, the number of almost completion, leading us to see the 7th of the 7th generation beginning in Jesus.
Joseph’s paternal lineage — Important in tracing back the line to David, a fulfilment of the prophetic tradition’s call for the Christ to arrive.
Let’s talk about some of these people...
Abraham…no children until old age, displaced/migrant worker, messy family dynamics even when he does have kids.
Jacob…wanderer, outcast, prodigal who returns home
Judah…and his brothers: the tribes of Israel. The hopeful culmination of the early work God does in the line of Abraham…and, a messy bunch who sell their brother into slavery and then have to beg for his mercy when they come to Egypt.
Tamar…not Judah’s primary wife or concubine…she’s his daughter. She conceived twins by him. Lineage born by deception and disguise. She highlights the plight of women in this culture, who had power only through marriage and offspring. She subverts this system to save herself after being outcast and is seen in Judah’s and the eyes of their ancestors, as righteous for her desire to continue the line of her family.
Then we have Rahab, mother of Boaz. Rahab was known as a harlot, a prostitute, in the city of Jericho. She aids the spies from the Hebrews who are scouting out the promised land, as they have come to it following their journey through the wilderness from Egypt to Palestine. She saves the spies and helps in the overthrow of Jericho, a key victory in the Hebrew people taking over the land of Palestine, the land God had promised them.
Rahab mothers Boaz by the Abrahamic descendant, Salmon. Boaz is the
We also have Ruth, an outsider, a Moabite. Boaz was an influential landowner, a Moabite himself.
Isaiah’s image of regeneration
What kinds of regeneration do we see in our heritage, our lineage?
Who passed on the faith to you? How are you passing it on to others?
Names in the list — triumph, hardship, exemplars and outcasts.
Is there room for us in this story? Would you let yourself be seen in this story?