And Jehoshaphat. And Rehoboam. And Amminadab. And Hezron. And Asaph. And all of the other people with awesome names that are found in today's Gospel reading from the book of Matthew. Today's Gospel details the lineage of Jesus Christ and tells of the generations before Him all the way back to Abraham. Traditionally genealogies such as these, when used in Biblical texts, are there to show a jump in time. This one, however, is different, as it details the family of the Son of God rather than simply illustrating that a long period of time has passed.
This genealogy just goes to show that every single person that has ever lived on this earth matters and is loved and cared for. All those people were part of a greater plan, and most of them probably had no idea that they would be the family that would bring the son of God into the world, but they were. God has a bigger plan for you and for me than we can even imagine. He is in control and He has an amazing plan of which we are vital players.
Just like all those people didn't know that God was going to make their nation and family one that would never fade into history, sometimes we don't know where God is leading us. Sometimes we have absolutely no idea why we are going through what we are going through in our lives. Sometimes we can't see where God is leading us. The path ahead might be bumpy and maybe you've taken so many turns that you're not even sure how you got to where you are. Even though it's uncertain, even though we don't understand, even though nothing seems to be going right, that's okay. God is in control. Just as He was for all of those people in Jesus' genealogy, He has always been there and He always will be there for His people. So even though Biblical genealogies can seem monotonous and we may be tempted to rush through them, let's always remember that each and every person mentioned, and those not mentioned, matter in the eyes of God and are loved immensely and part of a larger plan. And so are we.
Fun fact: We too are part of the lineage of Jesus! Even though Christ never married, the line of Christ's family continues on through the Church (Us!)
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