We Are Family

Gospel:  Matthew 1: 1-17

Human beings have always been fascinated by their origins and family trees.  Great myths like the Aeneid tell of the origins of the Romans.  In our own times we have advanced scientific methods to search out our ancestry from long ago with DNA.  What are we looking for in such searches?  Do we hope to find that we are related to royalty and greatness? Will any of it help us to understand who we are and what we hope to accomplish in life?

Today's Gospel relates the ancestry of Jesus, and no doubt he has quite a few famous people in his ancestral lineage.  Yet, Jesus never ever references it in his life and ministry.  Some of those famous people were indeed well regarded in his culture, and yet even they had great sins and faults in addition to their great accomplishments.  David is but one example on the list. Many others in this tree of Jesus' human origins are lesser known, and some even outright scoundrels.

If we look into our own ancestry we will likely come to the same results.  We might find a great person in our lineage, but we may realize that person comes with lots of faults as well.  Most of our ancestry are little known people and even a few scoundrels.  What matters, though, is our connection to the Lord Jesus our brother.  He overcame the darkness of his human past to do great things and live a life others want to emulate.  In imitation of him we seek to do the same thing in our lives in our time and in our place by extending love and mercy to all as Jesus did.