The Genealogy of Jesus

Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.

Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (their mother was Tamar), Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron of Aram. Aram was the father of Amina­dab, Aminadab of Nahshon, Nahshon of Sal­mon.

Salmon was the father of Boaz. His mother was Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed. His mother was Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse.

Jesse was the father of David, the king. David was the father of Solomon. His mother had been Uriah’s wife.

Solomon was the father of Re­ho­­boam. Then came the kings: Abi­jah, Asaph, Jehoshaphat, Joram, Uz­ziah, Jo­­tham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Ma­­­nas­seh, Amon, Josiah.

Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

After the deportation to Babylon Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel and Salathiel of Zerubbabel.

Zerubbabel was the father of Abi­ud, Abiud of Eliakim, and El­ia­kim of Azor. Azor was the father of Za­dok, Za­dok the father of Akim, and Akim the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar of Matthan, and Matthan of Jacob.

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus who is called the Christ – the Messiah.

There were then fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, and fourteen generations from David to the deportation to Babylon, and fourteen generations from the deport­ation to Babylon to the birth of Christ.

D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)

The three (3) sets of fourteen generations in the genealogy of Jesus remind us that the covenant of the Jews with God was the responsibility of a whole generation. One must observe the covenant in solidarity with others. This makes the covenant both original and new. It is original because it is handed down; it is new because it is enriched by the life of solidarity of its recipients. It is this same covenant that calls us to stewardship today. We are our brothers’ keepers. The covenant, once perfected, raises our solidarity to the level of Trinitarian unity.

Today’s Gospel message is a timely reminder for us to work hard to achieve solidarity because cultures of most societies no longer support it. In his message for the celebration of the World Day of Peace in 2014 Pope Francis noted that apparently, “contemporary ethical systems remain incapable of producing authentic bonds of fraternity, since a fraternity devoid of reference to a common Father as its ultimate foundation is unable to endure.”-(Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., J.D., D.M.