September 8
Genealogy of Jesus Christ
The Nativity of
the Blessed Virgin Mary
Saint Adrian of Nicomedia
Today's Gospel: Matthew
1:1-16, 18-23
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the
son of Abraham. Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of
Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of
Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became
the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth.
Obed became the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife
of Uriah. Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asaph. Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat
the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah became the father of
Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah became
the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos,[d] Amos
the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at
the time of the Babylonian exile. After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became
the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the
father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of
Azor, Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the
father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of
Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband
of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah.
-Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his
mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was
found with child through the holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a
righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her
quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared
to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take
Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this
child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son, and you are to name him
Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to
fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall be
with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
Reflection:
Today the Church remembers Saint Adrian of Nicomedia on the very day she
celebrates the birth of Our Lady. That pairing is no accident. Adrian was a
pagan officer who oversaw the torture of Christians. Mid-torture, he asked them what could possibly be worth their suffering. They answered him
with Paul's own words: "The eye has not seen, nor ear heard, what God has prepared
for those who love Him." Something in Adrian broke open. He declared himself a
Christian on the spot and was martyred alongside the men he'd once guarded.
Matthew's genealogy carries the same reversal. Abraham to David, exile to
restoration, down to a carpenter and a young woman found with child before they
had come together. Kings and foreigners. Adulterers and exiles. God could have
given His Son a spotless family tree, but He didn't; instead, He wrote greatness
into scandal and struggle instead; the same way He wrote it into a persecutor's
heart at the worst possible moment.
Mary's own birth belongs to that pattern. Joachim and Anna waited twenty
years, childless, until an angel told Anna she would conceive. Their
prayerfulness and humility shaped the daughter God gave them. Mary's docility
wasn't only a gift poured into her from heaven. It was also formed by two
parents who had spent decades learning to wait on God's will rather than force
their own. Without that formation, without that humility passed down, the world
may never have received a mother ready to say yes.
This should reorder something in how you see your own life. Most of us
assume God works through the impressive, the credentialed, the polished, the already
proven. Adrian wasn't impressive. He held the whip. Joachim and Anna weren't impressed
by the world's measure either just faithful, or quietly, terribly patient.
Where have you assumed you were too ordinary, too compromised, or too far along
in the wrong direction for God to use? Adrian's collapse to his knees says
otherwise. So does a childless couple's long-awaited daughter.
Parents shape more than they know. Adrian didn't have believing parents; he
found grace in a single dramatic moment. Mary had parents who prepared her for
grace her whole life. Both paths still arrived at the same place: God is with
us, exactly as Matthew's Gospel names Him. So, which will it be for the people
watching your life: a sudden collapse to your knees, or a slow, faithful shaping
of the ones who come after you?
Rosary Man Jim
🌹
Freely given. Freely shared.
