THE WORD
Gn 49: 2.8–10 / Mt 1: 1–17
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.
After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah.
IN OTHER WORDS
I was a missionary in the Pacific for many years. The vast Pacific Ocean is a sea of islands. The many islands are inhabited by different and diverse peoples known as Micronesians, Polynesians, and Melanesians. If I were to describe these people, I would do it this way. The Micronesians are good at “reading the stars” that guide them when they travel at night. The Polynesians, on the other hand, are good at “reciting their genealogies.” And finally, the Melanesians are good at “observing their taboos.”
The Gospel of today reminds me of the Polynesians, particularly the Samoans among whom I lived and worked for many years. They know the members of their extended family; they know, so to say, their genealogy, their bloodline. They also know the bloodline of each family in their village and in other villages as well. They know who belongs to what family. At an early age, the Samoans learn about their own roots and that of the other families. This is part of their cultural heritage.
In a globalized world, we tend to focus our attention on our own families and forget about our bigger families. The traditional cultures in the Pacific are offering us an alternative to this problem of genealogical ignorance. Basically, going back and treasuring our roots is a challenge for all of us. Our roots define our identity, be it cultural or otherwise. There are many lessons we can learn from the peoples and cultures in the peripheries. Why not learn from them? Let us love and treasure our bloodlines, our family roots
- Fr. Edgar Javier, SVD (DWIMS, Tagaytay City)
The Word in other words 2015
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
