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Looking inMonday, December 17, 2007
Matthew 1:5-7, 15-16 What kind of introduction is that to scribes and Pharisees? Or any upstanding Jew, for that matter? They were Matthew's audience, and they knew all the stories well. Matthew pulled no punches, hid nothing. During his short ministry Jesus seemed to enjoy moments when the rich and famous of the world found him unacceptable for one reason or another. Their pride was one his favorite targets. He demolished their arguments and protests with wit, logic, acts of goodness, and an occasional outburst of righteous anger. In doing so he became the hero of the common man. Matthew himself had been a tax collector, reviled by all. Jesus didn't care; he grabbed him by the shoulders, looked him in the eyes and said those powerful words: "Follow me!" Jesus knew his Father (not Joseph, but God) looked into men's hearts for their motivations rather than only at what they did in their lives. He insisted that his listeners strive to do that as well. Following Jesus, we learn to say little, judge even less, and do all we can to love. I want to be on the path you're on, Jesus. Set my feet, and turn me right. |
Reading the genealogy of Jesus, I stop short at David and Solomon: "Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah." David's adultery and subsequent murder of Bathsheba's husband Uriah is one of the most sordid stories in the Old Testament. And there it is for all to see, as Matthew the scribe sets down the lineage of the savior-God, the messiah.