Matthew 1:18
18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit.
Monday, December 8 - Week of Peace
The author of Matthew’s Gospel account begins Joseph’s portion of the story by revealing the mystery right out front. After a lengthy account of Joseph’s genealogy leading back to King David and Abraham, the story then discloses that Jesus’ parentage was divine, not earthly.
By the earthly systems in place when Jesus was born, everything was tied to male parentage. Who you were, what tribe you belonged to, and even some political positions you could occupy were determined by male ancestry. Biologically speaking, Joseph was not Jesus’ father. Despite this, Jesus was still linked with Joseph’s ancestral lineage. This tied the immaculate birth all the way back through the generations of people who faithfully followed and worshipped God.
For God’s Peace to come into the world, there needed to be something that all the earthly ancestors had never seen before. Prior to Jesus’ birth, all the leaders were fully human. Through Jesus the Christ, Emmanuel, God’s Peace could be fully realized for all the world.
Prayer: God who sees the big picture, help us to feel Your Peace that you have shown in the fully God, fully human child born to us as Jesus the Christ. Amen.
