There is a joke among those who preach or give sermons:

There are two Gospels:
> The first being the “Gospel of the familiar”
> The second being the “Gospel of the unfamiliar”:

The  “Gospel of the Familiar” are those texts which are
…  fairly easy to preach
… fairly easy to communicate
>> They are simple to understand and easy-to-digest passages.

The  “Gospel of the Unfamiliar” are those texts which are
…  fairly difficult to discern
… fairly tricky to explicate
>> They are complicated to explain and “better to be avoided”!

The Gospel of the Day probably is of the second type: The “Gospel of the Unfamiliar”

We have the Genealogy of Jesus Christ (Mt 1: 1-17) for our reflection.

The Genealogy of Christ is perhaps one of the “most avoided” texts in the Gospel.
>> The Genealogy with its too complex length and its tongue-twisting names is most of the time, “avoided” and “skipped”.

But those sixteen verses of the Genealogy in the Gospel of St Mathew contains a treasure and mystery of the legacy of our faith!

The Genealogy is like Archaeology.
>>> We look for ancient treasures and we find dust…
>>> We look for buried cities and we find crumbled walls…
>>> We look for timeless art and instead find broken pottery…!

>> We look for holy people but we find cracked sinners
>> We look for valiant persons but we find ordinary folk
>> We look for the precious plan of God and instead find often the non co-operation of people…!

And our lives are similar too…
> We look for peaceful lives but we encounter constant troubles…
> We seek for happiness and success but we meet failures
> We expect the miraculous interventions of God but often find life hitting hard at us!

But in the history of salvation…
… and in our own history….
The Lord of History guides with His Mighty Hand!

In all the ordinariness that is seen…
… the Mighty God steers and pilots our lives through the thickets & valleys & plains & deserts!

One of the finest things that we learn from the  Genealogy is the message of Hope!

St Matthew’s version of the Genealogy contains a number of “controversial”, “disputable”, “doubtful”, “notorious” and “tarnished” personalities…

>> There is a person who had to face a lot of doubts and struggled with the promises of God…
…  Abraham

>> There is a person who was known to be a cheater…
… Jacob

>> There is a person who disguised herself as a prostitute and seduced her father-in-law…
… Tamar

>> There was Gentile prostitute, who had given refuge to the fleeing Jews…
… Rahab

>> There is a Gentile woman whose tribe had its origin in incest…
… Ruth

>> There is a woman who was abused by the Great King of Israel…
… The wife of Uriah

>> There is a king who was stuck with leprosy for disobeying God…
… Uzziah

>> There is a king who was cursed that none of his descendants would ever sit on the throne…
… Jeconiah

Well.. the list is large…

But this long list of “controversial” people, ought not to discourage us…

As Cardinal Van Thuan says in his book, ‘The Testimony of Hope’ :
“The river of history, full of sinners and criminals, becomes a source of pure water, as we approach the fullness of time.
With Mary, the Mother and Jesus, the Messiah, all generations will be renewed again”

The more one gets closer to Mother Mary and Jesus, the greater will be our purity and holiness!

The Genealogy of Jesus, thus, gives us the great message of hope

>> We may have a past that is hurting us – either due to our biological family  or due to our own experiences of life…
… a past that is painful or abused
… a past that is sinful and we wish to forget
… a past that has experienced humiliations and rejection

But if we go closer to Jesus, with our Blessed Mamma beside us…
… we are sure to be healed
… we are sure to be blessed in grace
… we are sure to be given hope for life

>> Yet, the Genealogy teaches us the big lesson that all our past can be cleansed and healed, by the mighty presence of Jesus.

Jesus, in Mt 12:50 says:
“Whoever does the will of my Father in Heaven, is my brother and sister and mother”

This then is the simple, yet challenging criteria to be part of the Family of Jesus: Doing the Will of the Father.

The Gospel of the Day may surely seem to be “a Gospel of the Unfamiliar”.

>> But let us take time, hereafter…
…  to read the Genealogy more
… to understand the Providential ways of God
… to realise that God has a way to bring out the best, even from the darkest spots

And above all, let us seek to be a part of the Family of Christ, by doing the Will of the Father – at all times, in all situations!

God Bless! Live Jesus!