All those names?

This looks like it is just a list of names, and why would Matthew include them, especially at the beginning of his account of the life of Jesus.

It seems a strange way to start a gospel, and I know I would often skip over it – I mean what is the point of all those names, and so many of them are hard to pronounce.

For the people who first read, or heard, this gospel, that list of names meant a lot. The genealogy, or family history of Jesus, tells us a lot about who Jesus is, and what we can expect in the rest of Matthew’s story.

Matthew starts the gospel with this list of names. If you compare what Matthew has written with the list of kings etc, from the Old Testament, you will notice some have been left out. This isn’t because Matthew didn’t like them, but because he wasn’t giving a full historical account of the forebears of Jesus. The genealogy is included for a reason, not just to trip up the Bible reader rostered for the day.

Another thing to note is that it is different to the list in Luke chapter 3, Luke is writing to a different audience and emphasises the humanity of Jesus, taking the genealogy all the way back to Adam.

The point of Matthew’s gospel, well, all the gospel writers, is to answer the question: who is Jesus?

The genealogy in Matthew is put together to show that Jesus is descended from Abraham, thus making him a Jew; and from King David.[i]

Matthew is writing for a community that is being pushed out of the temple and synagogue for being followers of Jesus. Matthew has lots of references to the Old testament, to reassure the followers of Jesus that they were indeed still children of Abraham.

The first verse of the first chapter is “An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” I read that Greek text reads, somewhat literally, “the book of the genesis of Jesus Christ.”[ii]  This is a new beginning.

Matthew tells us that from Abraham to Jesus are three sets of 14 generations, or six sets of seven generations. “The implication is that Jesus begins the last seven, the final epoch. He begins the seventh set of seven generations, an allusion to the Jubilee year, the seventh Sabbath year. Jesus inaugurates the Jubilee generation, an era in which everything will be reconstituted, redistributed and turned upside down. Matthew prepares us for this radical remaking of the world by giving us a genealogy in which five women, one for each of the books of Torah, radically transform the Israelite story.”[iii]

So, what does the list recorded by Matthew tell us?

This is written in the standard format for the time, all males ….. except …  we will get to the exceptions shortly. The men in this list are faithful and sinners, liars and murderers. Some are better known than others, the one thing they have in common is that they are listed as forebears of Jesus.   Just as for many others who go searching for information about their ancestors, Jesus had a few unsavoury people in his history as well.

“God’s redemption absorbs despicable histories like these, and Jesus is kin to those who need his forgiveness most.”[iv]

It is the exceptions I want to look more closely now. The exceptions are women. Women did not usually feature in a family history list. and the women who are listed by Matthew are not the Matriarchs, Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah.

The women listed are, at first look, of dubious character.

Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, the wife of Uriah, and Mary. Each of these has a story to tell. We only hear a little of their story, and not in their own words. Each also represents something of the kingdom message.

Tamar [See Genesis 38]  is married to Er, who dies without any children. Then she is given in marriage to his brother, Onan, who also dies without any children. Father in law, Judah does not want to risk son number 3 also dying, so sends her away until son number 3 ‘grows up’.

In order to fulfil the law for her first husband, Tamar dresses as a prostitute in order to sleep with her father-in-law Judah, producing a son for her dead husband. In this way Tamar becomes an ancestor of the great King David.[v]

Matthew’s reference to a story that reveals Judah’s sin says something important about Matthew’s reading of Israelite history. Matthew emphasises that righteousness is lived out, not only in words. Tamar does what is right in the law, in having a child for her dead husband, she is the one who brings justice.[vi]

Rahab [Joshua chapters 2 and 6] is a Canaanite prostitute living in the city of Jericho in the time of Joshua. The Israelites have escaped from Egypt and have been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. As they prepare to invade the land of Canaan, the Israelites send spies to Jericho. When the spies find their lives in danger, Rahab helps them escape. In return, the Israelites spare her family when they attack the city.[vii]

Rahab represents the outcasts of society. Here we see who Jesus will mainly associate with, the sinners and outcasts.[viii]

Then we come to Ruth, a Moabite woman who gives up her land and her people to support her Israelite mother-in-law, Naomi. Following Naomi back to Bethlehem, Ruth navigates Israelite culture and custom to save her mother-in-law, eventually marrying Naomi’s kinsman Boaz and having a son, Obed, who would become the grandfather of David.[ix]

Ruth came from Moab, an enemy of Israel. Her inclusion in the genealogy represents the enemy Jesus calls his followers to love. She also represents the widow, the alien and the poor whom the laws of Torah command society to provide for because of their vulnerability.[x]

Then Bathsheba, though here she is referred to as the wife of Uriah the Hittite. After adultery and murder, David marries Bathsheba, who becomes the mother of Solomon, in biblical memory one of the greatest kings of Israel.[xi]

In referring to Bathsheba, not by name but by telling us that she was Uriah’s wife, Matthew highlights the sin of King David. For so long, the people of Israel had longed for a new King, like David, and here is a reminder that he was not perfect.[xii]

Culminating the succession of women is Mary, a young peasant woman who gets pregnant before her wedding, gives birth to the Messiah. Mary not only interrupts the normal pattern of the genealogy, she breaks it. Up until now, even with the previous interruptions, the normal pattern of “so-and-so was the father of so-and-so” maintained. This time, however, Matthew writes “Mary, from whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.”[xiii]

This list, of difficult to pronounce names, of men who lived and died, with a few women included, tells us about the person Jesus, and what the new Kingdom will be like.

The ministry of Jesus will include:

• ·         outsiders
• ·         sinners
• ·         those act with righteousness
• ·         loving enemies
• ·         loving the poor and needy and widowed
• ·         turning upside down the established order.

This list of names tells us about Jesus, and what is important to Matthew in the Jesus story.

Jesus is a Jew and in the line of King David.

Jesus is also the fulfilment of the hopes and dreams of the people of Israel, but like so often, in God’s way, not the way the people thought it would happen.

Where do you see the living out of the Kingdom of God? 

---

[i] https://bible.org/seriespage/1-origins-jesus-christ-matthew-11-25?fbclid=IwAR3o0HeXmrUb9f8F952Qp6IQqRBDdB8P_WHcnoXUQm37Rbb9Jaqsurp3qLI

[ii] https://bible.org/seriespage/1-origins-jesus-christ-matthew-11-25?fbclid=IwAR3o0HeXmrUb9f8F952Qp6IQqRBDdB8P_WHcnoXUQm37Rbb9Jaqsurp3qLI

[iii] https://themennonite.org/feature/subversive-women-genealogy-jesus/

[iv]http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3843&fbclid=IwAR1tiR_tlxVuso9M0aLII8etUM0BWLhiGN6vmcg1aGFX3FM5eyiSY3sldho

[v] https://robertwilliamsonjr.com/women-matthews-genealogy/?fbclid=IwAR1hx03nXz4A7SJ4KAjgQV12LZ969WMiyBK_eKy6zhpni_0K6mDnfbho4LI

[vi] https://themennonite.org/feature/subversive-women-genealogy-jesus/

[vii] https://robertwilliamsonjr.com/women-matthews-genealogy/?fbclid=IwAR1hx03nXz4A7SJ4KAjgQV12LZ969WMiyBK_eKy6zhpni_0K6mDnfbho4LI

[viii] https://themennonite.org/feature/subversive-women-genealogy-jesus/

[ix] https://robertwilliamsonjr.com/women-matthews-genealogy/?fbclid=IwAR1hx03nXz4A7SJ4KAjgQV12LZ969WMiyBK_eKy6zhpni_0K6mDnfbho4LI

[x] https://themennonite.org/feature/subversive-women-genealogy-jesus/

[xi] https://robertwilliamsonjr.com/women-matthews-genealogy/?fbclid=IwAR1hx03nXz4A7SJ4KAjgQV12LZ969WMiyBK_eKy6zhpni_0K6mDnfbho4LI

[xii] https://themennonite.org/feature/subversive-women-genealogy-jesus/

[xiii] https://themennonite.org/feature/subversive-women-genealogy-jesus/

Christmas all year

Anyone opened any presents yet?

Want to tell me?

I have something here. It is toilet paper.

You may be wondering why I have toilet paper with me at church on Christmas morning….

The toilet paper is from ‘who gives a crap’, meaning who cares?

The company was started by 3 people in 2012, when three young Australians learnt that 2.3 billion, or 40% of the world’s population, did not have access to a toilet, and almost 800 children were dying each day because of poor water and sanitation; they decided to do something about it.

They started making toilet paper and they donate 50% of the profits to help build toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world.

I have a roll for each family, my gift to you this Christmas.

[The Incarnation from Cloth for the Cradle WGWG]

Christmas all year long [Luke 2:1-20]

Christmas morning, and we have heard the story from the Gospel of Luke about the birth of Jesus and the Angels singing to Shepherds. 

I looked back in my files and I have preached on this passage every Christmas Day since I arrived three years ago, and more years before that.

Each year we hear the story, sing the carols and celebrate.

I wonder what part of this story do you love the most?

•      Is it the story - of an angel appearing to a young woman, asking her to bear the Christ Child?

•      Is it the story - of a couple, about to become first time parents travelling to his ancestral town?

•      Is it the story - of angels spreading good news but starting with Fear Not!

•      Is it the story - of shepherds hearing angels and good news in the midst of their everyday?

what do you need this Christmas?

• Do you need to hear that Jesus was born out of God’s love for you?
• Do you need to hear that the Good News first went to people who were outsiders in the society?
• Do you need to hear the angel message of Fear Not, because God is present?
• Do you need to hear that Immanuel - God with us, is born for you?

I wonder what Christmas means for the

• 25 million people in the world who are refugees[i]
• 116,000 people in Australia who are homeless[ii]
• just over 3 million people (13.2%) living below the poverty line in Australia[iii]
• to the 815 million people worldwide who are undernourished.[iv]

Does anyone care?

In 1984 there was a song: Do they know it's Christmas?[v]

I wonder how do we know it is Christmas?

Is it because it is time for turkey and ham, or prawns and pavlova?

Is it because of Christmas trees and carols?

How do we know it is Christmas?

If Christmas is about not being afraid, accepting the that you are loved by God and God is present with us, always; maybe we can show that love to others.

To people who are as imperfect as we are.

To people whose hopes and dreams are fragile

To people who live in poverty, or are fleeing danger

In Jesus, God says: I Give a crap, I care,

What does our life say:

Does it say we care for all people, or just for ourselves?

Does it say we are aware of how some have more than is needed while others have not enough to live with dignity

Do our words and actions, shopping choices and the way we use our time, tell of Love and Hope, or greed and self-centredness?

Christmas is God saying, I love you, with all I am; and I want to be with you always.

May you live all year, with the love of Christmas. 

---

[i] https://johntsquires.wordpress.com/2018/12/24/resonating-with-christmas-a-story-of-restless-travel-and-seeking-refuge/?fbclid=IwAR2rVxRAAJbDdCVwhqNK8k9ZyUnrphAextiIKuO7NKSWHf80xTOyfknCg0U

[ii] https://www.ahuri.edu.au/policy/ahuri-briefs/how-homelessness-changed-between-2011-2016?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItfrFody33wIVhTUrCh2Kag2NEAAYASAAEgIaGvD_BwE

[iii] https://www.acoss.org.au/poverty/

[iv] https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg2

[v] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_They_Know_It%27s_Christmas%3F

Infecting the World

In the Christmas story, a combination of Luke and Matthew, we usually hear about Mary and the angel Gabriel,

Mary visiting Elizabeth,

Mary singing, then

Mary and Joseph travelling for the census, and

the baby being placed in a manger.

All from Luke’s gospel.

We don’t hear from Matthew, until we get to the coming of the Magi, and the young family fleeing to Egypt.

But today, we hear about the birth from Matthew’s gospel. You can see why Luke predominates our Christmas storytelling, so much more action.

A little background on the rituals surrounding marriage at this time. Mary and Joseph's betrothal is much more of a contract than what we consider engagement to be, it was as if they were married just not yet living together. Marriage was a two-stage process, the first stage the promise and pledge, the second stage the celebration and moving in together.[i]

What is a righteous man to do? He finds his wife is pregnant with a child that he knows is not his. Joseph sees only two options, to dissolve the marriage quietly or to publicly accuse Mary. The second option, of publicly accusing her would lead to her death and Joseph would have a hand in the killing. To dissolve the marriage quietly means Joseph has not participated directly in her death, but it leaves her in a very vulnerable position.[ii]

Joseph hadn't considered the third possibility, it was such an absurd thought, that no righteous man would. Joseph didn't consider the possibility of protecting Mary, and her child, and raising the child as his own.

That is,

until the dream,

when an angel appeared to Joseph and explained to him that Mary was pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit and this child would save people from their sins.

The passage we heard this morning is the entire birth narrative in the gospel of Matthew. No shepherds, no journey to Bethlehem, no stable and manger. Matthew does tell of the coming of the wise men, but this passage is all we hear about his birth.

When we read the biblical text is important to note who is the named, who speaks, and who acts in the scene.

Mary is barely mentioned, and the verbs are passive. It seems that the action is happening around her:

– Mary had been engaged to Joseph

– she was found to be with child

Joseph gets a little more airplay, but he doesn't speak.

The speaking is done by the Angel.

I wonder how Joseph felt. Matthew records what was going on in Joseph’s head, but what about his heart and his gut. I imagine a sense of betrayal, disbelief, anger. How could she do this to me? What about our future? But then, for Joseph, there is still a future. He can either publicly or privately divorce Mary, but without Joseph she has no future.

I wonder when has God intervened in your life?

When has God sent a Joseph to you, or an angel?

In my experience it can be difficult to see where God is active in our lives at the time.

Just as we think about Mary having a choice, in Luke’s gospel anyway, Joseph also had a choice. He could leave Mary to the whims of the community, or he could marry her and protect her and the child.

Jesus was born, our text today says nothing of the place, there is no manger, and no angels singing at his birth. Jesus was born in scandalous circumstances. Yet, Jesus was born, out of God’s love.

A quote: ‘Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love’[iii]

I wonder what the world would look like if we there was a conspiracy of love,

if we looked at problems differently, and responded differently?

If we decided that love would win the day

Love like the love Jesus shows for each one of us.

What if we were obedient to God,

to the nudging of the Spirit within us,

to say hello,

to ring a friend,

to help a stranger?

What if love, rather than fear was the base for our response.

What are some alternatives for our living?

One idea that I like, that sounds completely crazy, is from a short story by Robert Fulghum.

“Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon.

A happiness weapon.

A beauty bomb.

And every time a crisis developed,

we would launch one.

It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air. Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas. And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight. Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in. With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest. And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination.” ― Robert Fulghum

During advent, we focus on themes of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.

These are things we can’t drop down to Woolies or Coles and put in our shopping trolley. These come from within us, from our relationship with God through Jesus.

But there are things we can do to increase Hope and Peace and Joy and Love in the world.

To start with, we can be people who do not strip Hope and Peace and Joy and Love from others.

        By Not making fun of people

        Not judging people

        Not Assuming we know what is best for someone else

We can enhance Hope and Peace and Joy and Love in the world, by nurturing it in our own lives, and being sources of Hope and Peace and Joy and Love for those we meet.

By treating people with dignity and respect

By listening

Offering a smile, a welcoming wave.

In what ways can we be like Joseph, open to the nudges of the Holy Spirit,

Willing to take a chance, to do the life-giving, if unconventional thing.

In what ways can we infect the world with Hope and Peace and Joy and Love?

---

[i] https://www.facebook.com/notthatkindofchristian/photos/a.1028878097188376/1971575006252009/?type=3&theater

[ii] [ii] Richard Swanson, Provoking the Gospel of Matthew

[iii] [i] Arland J. Hultgren, Working Preacher

Servant Discipleship

Much of Isaiah reads like poetry, it is full of images.

The second reading is where we are focusing this morning.  The beginning of Second Isaiah, and part of the suffering servant passages.

Here is my servant!

    I have made him strong.
He is my chosen one;
    I am pleased with him.
I have given him my Spirit,
and he will bring justice
    to the nations.

As Christians this passage has often been understood to refer to the coming Messiah.  In Advent, it is easy for us to read this passage as a description of a future Jesus.

While the beginning of chapter 42 reads as if it is about a person, one person, it is likely that it is about Israel, the nation.[i] From the beginning God was using Israel to bring the message of justice and righteousness, of caring for the poor, the widow, the orphan, to the world.

I think the servant is personified in the life of Jesus, that is, Jesus shows us it is possible to live in the way described by Isaiah.

But the passage is about more than Jesus.

It is God’s desire for the people of Israel to be God’s people, not in name only, but in their national life.

What might this servant life look like:

“The servant:

• is upheld and chosen by God (verse 1)
• is one in whom God delights (verse 1)
• is one on whom God’s Spirit resides (verse 1)
• is part of the “new things” God is up to (verse 9)”

is this also us? are we not upheld by God,

does God not delight in us?

are we not filled with the Holy Spirit?

Back to the servant:

• “brings forth justice to the nations (verse 1)
• does not raise his voice in the streets (verse 2)
• does not break a bruised read or quench a burning wick (verse 3)
• faithfully brings forth justice (verse 3)
• will tirelessly work until he has established justice in the earth (verse 4)
• has the support of God (verse 6)
• is given as a “covenant to the people” (verse 6)
• is a “light to the nations” (verse 6)
• will “open the eyes that are blind” (verse 7)
• will “bring out the prisoners from the dungeon ... those who sit in darkness” (verse 7)

The servant is chosen by God for a mission of global scope that includes healing, teaching, and establishing justice. The servant’s deeds are part of the “new thing” that God is doing on behalf of exiled Jews, who find themselves driven to the far reaches of the earth.” [ii]

In our commitment and Baptism, we are part of the body of Christ, and are called to live in new ways.

Discipleship is a word that I think is underused and underrated. Look at the lives of the prophets and disciples. Even if they had comfortable lives before God called them, everything changed from that point.

In discussions in various places I am amazed, though I shouldn’t be, at the self interest people have, even in the church.

Isaiah is saying:

God sees you cheating

God sees you pay lip service to worship

God sees you not helping the poor,

And working against the widow and orphan.

God hears you when you call someone worthless

When you treat someone with contempt

Along with the other prophets, Isaiah is reminding the people of Israel,

and us,

that true worship is not about singing hymn or saying prayers,

any more than it is about sacrifices.

True worship is in our lived out lives.

True worship is in being light and hope

In standing with those treated unjustly

In feeding the poor

In calling for the release of captives.

In Luke chapter 4, Jesus quotes from Isaiah:

Isaiah 61: 1-2, Contemporary English Version (CEV)

The Spirit of the Lord God

    has taken control of me!

The Lord has chosen and sent me

to tell the oppressed

    the good news,

to heal the brokenhearted,

and to announce freedom

    for prisoners and captives.

 This is the year

    when the Lord God

will show kindness to us

    and punish our enemies.

Later in that chapter of Isaiah, we read:

Isaiah 61: 10-11 Contemporary English Version (CEV)

I celebrate and shout
    because of my Lord God.
His saving power and justice
    are the very clothes I wear.
They are more beautiful
than the jewellery worn
    by a bride or a groom.
The Lord will bring about
justice and praise
    in every nation on earth,
like flowers blooming
    in a garden.

Beautiful imagery, of wearing justice like clothing, and the way justice and praise will be like flowers blooming in a garden.

I wonder what that means justice might look like?

Maybe not one big thing. Not one thing that changes the world in an instant, but slow, gradual, continual work,

everyday,

until justice becomes as natural to us as breathing.

“What would our church communities look like, or feel like, if they were truly the people working to bring about God’s vision of justice for all?”[iii]

Would we be worrying about the colour of carpet, I know one church that took two months and numerous meetings to solve that dilemma.

What would our meeting agendas be like if our main business was:

·         bringing about God’s justice for all people,

·         being people of hope for the desperate

·         being hope and light to the nations

What if God is saying to you:

People of Broken Bay Uniting Church,

I chose you to bring justice,
    and I am here at your side.
I selected and sent you
    to bring light
and my promise of hope
    to the nations.
You will give sight
    to the blind;
you will set prisoners free
    from dark dungeons.

Like much of the Bible, there are many ways of interpreting these passages. They might be a prophecy about the coming Messiah.

It is also an image of the nation of Israel as God dreamt for them to be.

And I think a challenge for us, to live into our baptismal identity, of being part of the body of Christ, and therefore living as Jesus did:

People of grace

Hope

Love

And justice.

Where is God challenging or calling you today?

What does it feel like for God to delight in you?

---

[i] https://robertwilliamsonjr.com/advent-eyes-isaiah/?fbclid=IwAR1CsDCbg3QCgyoHxmc6G6YigVsQbi_fam-13hIUaJmN-atqa6DtY4CSEsU

[ii] https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3839

[iii] Spill the Beans