The Begats: Building on Generations of Faith
A sermon by Brent J. Eelman
Abington Presbyterian Church
October 22, 2006

Matthew 1: 1-17
    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, ³and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, ⁴and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, ⁵and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, ⁶and Jesse the father of King David.
    And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, ⁷and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, ⁸and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, ⁹and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, ¹⁰and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, ¹¹and 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, ¹³and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, ¹⁴and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, ¹⁵and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶and 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. *

You might be wondering: “why did Brent pick this particular scripture as the text for the sermon? No, I didn’t pick it so that the reader would be tongue-tied with all the Hebrew names. I picked it because I believe that it is one of the most important texts in the gospels. Yes, you heard that right: one of the most important chapters in the Gospels: The Begats! Today, I want to examine three things; first, why this text is so important to the Gospels, second, why this text is so important to us, and third the challenge that it contains for us.

I

Why are the begats important to the gospels? Consider when someone is writing something, be it a novel, an article, an essay or a sermon, the first sentences are the most important. The writer not only needs to capture the imagination of the reader, but the writer also wants to make her primary point or thesis. With that in mind, why does Matthew begin with this long genealogy? What could possibly be the point of sharing the family tree of Jesus?

We know that one of the reasons for this extended genealogy was to show that Jesus was descended from King David. Matthew wanted to prove that Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise that God made to David: that from David’s heirs would come the Messiah.

The second reason for this long genealogy was to show that Jesus’ ancestors were not merely royalty. Listed in that genealogy are people like Ruth, Tamar and Rahab. The genealogy included people of questionable reputation and also kings. It included people, great and ordinary. They were not all saints. There were some pretty famous sinners listed! Take some time and read the stories of David, Tamar, Bathsheba, Solomon and Jechoniah. This genealogy illustrates that Jesus’ ancestors were like you and me. Indeed, it speaks to Christ’s humanity. He was born of ordinary people, not saints! Ordinary people, like you and me are the backbone of history!

The third reason for this genealogy is that it illustrates that the basic unit of history is not the year or chronological time. It is the generation. From the biblical perspective history is not measured in years, it is measured by generations.. It is the generation that links that present with the past, and it is the generation that links the present with the promise of the future. Years are metric. A generation implies a relationship. Our faith is about relationships: with Christ and with others.

But there is a fourth reason for this genealogy. It is about history and hope. It is about how God works in this world. Often we associate the spectacular and the powerful with God’s actions in history, but here in this genealogy, the story of salvation occurs through the lives of ordinary human beings; people who were not perfect, many who were not great.. Yet, it is through these people that God accomplished a great thing. Matthew was telling us that the great acts of history, indeed the greatest moment in history have their genesis in the actions of ordinary people. God’s involvement in history is not always spectacular. It is often subtle, comprised of many action, by many ordinary people, that lead to extraordinary results!

II

Why is this text important for us? I believe that it says to us, that when God does something in this world, he does it through people, ordinary people. God works through the lives of parents and children. This text is important to us because it speaks loudly and clearly that when God works in history he works with you and me…

I also believe that it says something powerful to us here in this room. Our sanctuary is adorned by these banners with our campaign theme: “Building on Generations of Faith”. On these banners are the pictures of the various ministers who served this congregation during periods of building and construction…. I have mentioned again and again, the debt that we owe to them for the vision that they had for Abington Presbyterian Church… But Abington Presbyterian Church’s history is not the story of its clergy…. It is the story of the generations of women and men who lived out their discipleship to Christ through our 292 years of history. It is the story of those who traveled ten and fifteen miles by horseback to worship in the early log cabin church. It is the story of the women of this congregation who had the vision to start the first foreign mission society in a local church. It is the story of the women and men who volunteered to teach church school, the voices who sang in the choir, the neighbors who shared the good news of Jesus Christ with a neighbor and introduced them to this community of faith. It is the story of volunteers and committees; deacons and elders, teachers and students. There are not enough banners for all the generations, who for 292 years worshipped and witnessed to the grace of Jesus Christ. The anthem that was sung by the choir, (Now let us praise famous men) is an ironic title, not merely because the genealogy includes women, but because the Bible praises the quiet and the obscure, women and men, young and old, who live by faith. They are the true story of history, and the church.

The genealogy of Jesus declares clearly that the history and hopes of the Hebrew people was not the history of their kings. The genealogy of Jesus also declares to us that the history and glory of this congregation is not told in the story of its pastors, it is in the lives of women and men, old and young who have faithfully served God, following Christ, in these walls and beyond them. That is why this text is important to us, because it says that the important and powerful actions of God are through the faithfulness of people like you, not merely those in robes and collars!

III

There is also a challenge in this message. The challenge is this: The history of redemption did not end at the conclusion of the Matthew’s genealogy. Christ is the fulfillment of that history, but it continues beyond those generations. It continues through Paul and Timothy, through Priscilla and Mary, through saints and martyrs… through peasants and priests.. all who have followed and proclaimed the good news of Jesus Christ. The challenge for us is that our history does not end today. It begins today and it begins with this generation. This challenge also anticipates the promise of the next generation with hope!

A number of you have heard me speak about the posters that our children created to show their support for our capital effort. Their effort, a gift of time and talent, is the first gift to our campaign and theirs is a powerful statement of hope that leads the way. I encourage you to take a close look at the efforts of this new generation in our midst. Read and discover the love that they have for their church and then offer a prayer of thanksgiving….

Our challenge is to build on all these generations of faith, so that there is something for our children and their children to build upon. It is not enough, merely to give thanks. It is not enough to merely celebrate the faithful generations of the past. It is time for us to cast our lot with them. This is the challenge of the begats! Amen

 
*The New Revised Standard Version Bible, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989.

Abington Presbyterian Church, Abington, Pennsylvania,  www.apcusa.org