Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight

 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:  Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.  Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar.  Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.  Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.  Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.

David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.  Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.  Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshapat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah.  Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.  Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.  Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel.  Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor.  Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud.  Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.  And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.  So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

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In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the LORD,
Make His paths straight.'"

Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.  Then Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

- Matthew 1:1-17; 3:1-6

  The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:  Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.  Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar.  Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.  Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.  Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.  There are several notes here my study bible mentions regarding these passages.  Jesus means "O Lord, save, which refers to Jesus' role as Savior.  Christ means "the Anointed One," or the Messiah, "the One who is filled with the Spirit.  Though the Son alone became a man, God the Father and the Holy Spirit work in the Savior to save us.  Jesus became a man as a Jew, of the lineage of Abraham, the father of all Jews, with whom God established the covenant of circumcision; and of David, Israel's greatest king, the prototype of the royal Messiah.  Jesus fulfills the promise and the righteousness of the Jews, bringing those who are faithful and righteous to Himself, God incarnate.  The book of the genealogy reveals the history of God's choice of His servants and the preparation of humanity for His coming."  We note that Jewish genealogical lists normally included only men.  But here, Tamar and other women (Rahab and Ruth, and Bathsheba identified as the wife of Uriah) is unusual.  All of these women were either Gentiles or they were sinners, which indicates God's graciousness and mercy.  My study bible says, "This passage underscores the role of women in the history of salvation and anticipates the crucial role of Mary."  It adds that "King David mystically typifies the royalty of Christ (Ps. 110).  Through his anointing by Samuel, David received the authority of Kingship to lead Israel and preserve the covenant of God.  As an adulterer and murderer, however, he is a type of the repentant sinner.  Although Jesus is David's descendant, He is a more exalted King, King of the Church, whose Kingdom cannot be destroyed."

David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.  Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.  Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshapat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah.  Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.  Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.  Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.  And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel.  Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor.  Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud.  Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.  And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.  So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.  My study bible says, "The lists of both Matthew and Luke (Luke 3:23) name Joseph as Jesus' immediate predecessor, conferring legal paternity according to Jewish tradition.  Some Church Fathers thought Mary, also, was of Davidic lineage.  Old Testament marriage laws confer all hereditary rights on adopted as well as biological sons.  Matthew, then, perhaps gives the succession of kings.  Luke, a biological descent.  Of whom (in of whom was born Jesus, v. 16) is a feminine form in Greek, referring only to Mary, not to Joseph.  Thus Matthew affirms that Jesus was born only of Mary.  Joseph acted as Jesus' father, but he was not His begetter."  We note also that the lists here are arranged in three groups of fourteen generations each.  "Fourteen," says my study bible, "is the numerical value of the consonants in the name David, underlining Jesus' Davidic descent."

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD,  Make His paths straight.'"  The call for the Kingdom begins with the preparation of John the Baptist, who calls on all to repent.  Baptism, symbolic of birth and death, ties here with this call to repentance, a radical about-face.  My study bible says that repentance is "a radical change of one's spirit, mind and heart, a complete reorientation of the whole of one's life and being."  It is followed by the confession of sins, "the decisive act of baptism, and an actual change in one's life, the 'fruits worthy of repentance.'" 

Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.  My study bible tells us, "John's ascetic life-style is in conformity with that of the Jewish sects, such as the Essenes, who made their home in the wilderness and whose purpose was to prepare for the coming Kingdom of God.  His clothing is typical of a prophet.  Elijah, who also wore a leather belt, was the prophet expected to prepare Israel for the Messiah.  Monastics especially follow in Elijah's and the Baptist's mission of repentance and prophecy." 

Then Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. A note tells us, "People are baptized by John, confessing their sins, so that they may be prepared to receive the Messiah.  Such preparation is usual in coming to faith.  Confession of sin is a sign of repentance and is essential to baptism even today.  John's baptism, however, was for remission of sins only, purifying people for the coming of the Messiah and helping to deliver them from the wrath to come; it did not confer regeneration nor adoption as a child of God, as does Christian baptism."

Matthew gives us the preparation for Jesus coming into the world, through a history of genealogy that descends from Abraham, through David, to Jesus.  The emphasis is on this Patriarchal and kingly heritage.  But, as my study bible noted, there are also women mentioned in this genealogy, a very unusual thing.  Some are sinners, some are Gentiles.  And so, God's work extends beyond the human conception of what a "good lineage" is or means; there is a hint here of repentance, that human beings do not fall rigidly into fixed categories when it comes to the work of God.  That fact becomes more poignant in the work of John the Baptist, whose mission is to prepare for the advent of the Messiah, the Christ.  We may read the genealogy and consider the whole history of Israel through the names mentioned here, and thoughts of the Exodus, and the Patriarchs, and the kings may give us a clue about what it is to be prepared for the culmination of this history in the ministry and teachings and Person of Jesus.  But that's not enough.  Just as the mention of these women give us hints that a human perspective alone on "preparation" isn't really all that's necessary in God's point of view, so this radical repentance, preached in the wilderness by a prophet dressed like Elijah, in a leather belt and camel's hair, eating locusts and wild honey, is also necessary.  Regardless of the enormity of the preparation revealed through this genealogy, it is just not enough, and a radical shake up of our point of view, a preparedness that consists only of repentance and confession of sins, so that we are truly "ready" to receive, will do.  It tells us something about God's revelation in human history.  Nothing can adequately prepare us for revelation, because it is always so "outside the box" of our expectations that we cannot truly be prepared for it.  The one thing we can do is be ready to cast aside our previous understanding, to admit both that we are fallible, and that we must be prepared for a total turn-around in our perspective, can be a real preparation for what is to come.  What God reveals will shake us up, ask of us change, and so the "death-and-rebirth" of baptism is the only adequate preparation.  Christ's revelation will be an entirely new dimension of what we are to understand spiritually, leading to the anointing of the Spirit that will change the world.  We cannot look back to the past to adequately prepare for the future.  Instead, our real preparation is to look to the future to prepare for it, and be ready for the change it will bring, the revelation of things we don't know, and our awareness of our own limitations and need for growth.  God has plans for us, and those plans are not things we can predict.  Let us remember that all of the spiritual history revealed in these Books that make up the Bible go into our own preparation and understanding.  In the liturgy, we also make confession and are ready to repent and change before we take the Body and Blood that become a part of us mystically, so that we, too, accept this change, this transforming agent, whatever it may reveal and however it may lead us.  All we can do is be prepared for the future, for that "eighth day" that takes us beyond what we can predict and will ask us to go further than we thought we could go.  For that, we let go of the past, and the ways of thinking that may interfere with His leading, the help of the Spirit, the Father who has prepared all beforehand.  Let us remember the radical shake up we are always to be ready to take on, the love and mercy that takes us outside of all categories we can come up with on our own.