Homily for Friday of the 3rd Week of Advent
Theme: Jesus’ Family Tree
By: FR GERALD M MUSA
Homily for Friday December 17 2021
In every family tree, there are great and not-so- great people. Every family history has a galaxy of geniuses and weird people. Different personalities and characters make family history interesting. St. Matthew traces the family tree of Jesus from Abraham to David. By this, he establishes the fact that Jesus was the One foretold by the prophets and that He was of royal descent. The men and women in the family history of Jesus were a mixture of saints and sinners. They were also a combination of different races and ethnicities. For example, Abraham from Tamar, a Canaanite, Rahab from Jericho, and Ruth Chaldea (Babylon), a Moabite. The weaknesses of some relations in TRUT LOVE the family tree of Jesus are stated in the Bible. Judah masterminded selling his brother Joseph to the Ishmaelites; Rahab was a prostitute, who was later depicted as a good woman; David, a great king, gave in to the sins of adultery and murder; King Solomon allowed his heart to lead him astray by amassing hundreds of wives and concubines; king Joash started well, but later abandoned the ways of God. King Ahaz of Judea was deeply involved in idol worship to the extent of offering his son as a human sacrifice. No family tree is made up of perfect people. As we read about Jesus and his family tree, can we learn to accept the humble and imperfect family backgrounds from which we came?
Matthew 1:1-17