Jesus’s Family Tree

Today’s Gospel is, I imagine, one of the readings that Father has to practice for well in advance. The genealogy of Jesus is a tongue twister, with crazy (and long) names that prove difficult to pronounce, hard to even understand, and leads many folks in the pews to have a wandering mind for just a bit.

But we hear the family tree of Jesus in today’s Gospel precisely because it gives us context (much needed) for His birth that we celebrate soon.

Jesus comes from a family, a descendant of Abraham, the Father of All Nations. He’s part of this line, not just some random baby who fell from the sky and landed in a manger ready to be wrapped in swaddling clothes.

And understanding His humanity - His family history - helps us understand the profound reality that God came to be with us, as one of us, and part of the human history we know, understand, and are ourselves connected to.

It’s also a moment to reflect on the absolute craziness of Jesus’s ancestors. A bit of torrid history, some of Jesus’s ancestors have moments of deep failure in their faith, moments where they strayed so far from God’s path it’s a wonder that path even continued to grow. It just goes to show that even a family history that twists and turns, with ups and downs, can still end with something profound and good, and salvific.

I used to use this great video from Bishop Barron all about Jesus’s genealogy in my teacher days. I highly recommend spending the few minutes to watch it…it’s great.

The Friday Five

Buying

These precious clocks for my mom and mother-in-law are in my cart this week and we’re placing pictures of the girls in all the frames so that they know “We love you all the time.”

Reading

East of Eden is my standard “end of the year” novel, and I’ve picked it back up like always and loving every second of it.

Watching

Abbott Elementary is a new show on ABC about the ups and downs of an inner-city Philadelphia school. As a former teacher, it is perfect.

Listening To

Hallow has amazing new kids content. Click here to get an extended free trial.

Learning About

There’s an interesting dispute between France and the UK about fishing rights. It’s a weird story, one that really only a nerd like me would care about, but I have no doubt in 50 years, this will be something taught in history books.

Today’s Guests

Angie Boso runs Angie’s Magnets, where she provides adorable saint magnets for kids to play with.

Dr. Peter Kreeft has written yet another amazing book on Mary. You’re going to want to read it.