Gospel: Matthew 1: 1-17
The original purpose of Jesus' family tree in the Gospels was to show legitimate ancestry as a Jewish person and as one claiming to be the Messiah of God. For the first, one had to trace one's lineage back to Abraham; for the second, back to David. Ancestry was an important component for ancient peoples. It showed one came from legitimate stock and that one had important ancestors and divine origins. These things are less important for us today.
What meaning, then, can Jesus' family tree have for us today? First, looking at the people listed in the genealogy, we find a wide cadre of rogues and outsiders, in addition to the famous people. This fact means that everyone has a role to play in salvation history. Everyone is important and every life has meaning. We may not realize our role until we reflect on it and see the bigger picture.
A second meaning for us is an important idea from the Jewish tradition: we make known our full history before everyone, the ugly parts as well as the glorious parts. We are not to be a triumphalistic people, but a humble people before God acknowledging our past faults and wayward ways. Only by doing so can something better come forth in our world.
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