Vigil mass
Second mass in one day! Maybe it’s habit forming.
Tonight’s gospel: Matthew 1: 1-25
1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;
5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;
8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;
9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;
10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;
11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:
12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;
13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;
14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;
15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;
16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
These are the salient bits.
Fourteen generations times three.
Observant readers will notice that Jesus, son of Joseph, is no genetic relation to David.
I can’t find a cite for this, maybe Ellison can provide me with one, but in Judaism, at least according to all the Jews I know, the tribe comes from the father; the NATION comes from the mother.
Mass was packed full; there were folks who hadn’t ever seen the inside of the church. Mumblings to my left and right (we had to sit on window ledges, there wasn’t an empty pew)”the people who show up every week should get first choice of the seats”. Me, I could care less. If they only show up once or twice a year, let them be comfy. I can relinquish my favorite pew for a service.
Christmas is tomorrow. I can hardly wait.
Jesus’ bloodline thru Mary is listed Luke chapter 3. You will note that the phrase “the son of” is in italics. This is because the relevant phrase is also translatable as “son in law of”, or “son by marriage”— which is how the maternal lineage is traced (a very masculine-oriented culture, the biblical Jews.) His claim to the throne of David lies through that lineage. Joseph’s lineage, in face, was one that had forfeited any claim to the throne.
(And before you ask, yes, Adam was also the father of Seth’s wife, so the phrase translated “son in law of” also applies there as well. Back in the first few generations of humanity they married their own siblings . They had to– wasn’t anyone else. Though fallen, the human genome was still in pristine condition at that point, so there wasn’t a danger of inbreeding-produced birth defects. The laws against marrying someone of too close a blood relation weren’t handed down till the time of Moses.)
Whew!
Thanks, RH, I understand the Mary/David link. I was referring to the genetic heritage coming from the mother and not the father. THe common complasint is that Judaism and Christianity are patriarchal religions when in fact women are held in higher esteem than most understand.
Vigil mass…
2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to…