Difference between revisions of "Sermon for November 30th, 2014"

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Matthew 1:1-17

1 An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, 4 and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,[c] 8 and Asaph[d] the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos,[e] and Amos[f] the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

Advent Encounters: Saints & Sinners

Today is the first Sunday in Advent. This Sunday, and for the next several weeks, I'll be preachig a sermon series called "Advent Encounters." We'll look at the stories in the bible surrounding the birth of Jesus, and in particular how his birth brought unlikely people together in interesting ways.

I belive that this story, the Christmas story, still has the power today to bring unlikely people together in interesting ways, life-transforming ways, around the person of Jesus. So let's see what, together, we can learn from this diverse cast of characters that can shine the bright light of hope into our darkest, coldest winter nights.

We begin with the strangest, most unlikely, most diverse cast of characters of all -- Jesus' own family tree. In the familiar King James version they are known as the Gat family. You know...Abraham B. Gat, Isaac B. Gat, Jacob B. Gat...not sure what the "B" stood for, but I always thought it was neat how they all passed on the same middle initial!

And since we're talking about geneology and family trees, I thought I'd share the following story:

A man was researching his ancestors, and came across some information on his great-great uncle, Remus Starr, who was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. He also found a photograph of Remus, showing him standing on the gallows. On the back of the picture were the words: Remus Starr: Horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison, 1885. Escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton Detectives, convicted and hanged, 1889.

Well, the man thought about this for awhile, and then made the following entry in his family history book: Uncle Remus Starr was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1885, he devoted several years of his life to service at a government facility, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Uncle Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collasped.

A few days later, the same man learned about his great, great uncle Willie, a convicted murderer who had been condemned to die in the Electric chair. Uncle Willie's entry in the family history book read like this: "Uncle William occupied a chair of applied electronics at one of our nation's leading institutions. He was attached to his position by the strongest of ties. His death came as a true shock."

• geneology? modern term. what's the original?
• generation count is off (14-14-12), doesn't match Luke's anyhow, or Old Testament geneologies.
• all through Joseph anyhow.
• four/five women: “It is,” concludes Father Raymond Brown in his magisterial 1993 study The Birth of the Messiah, “the combination of the scandalous or irregular union and of divine intervention through the women that explains best Matthew’s choice in the genealogy.”

• Scandal + Faithfulness + Human Initiative + Divine Intervention = Jesus the Messiah = Hope.