I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas day – I’m pre-writing as these are busy days! I’m decompressing from a good slowdown on Christmas. 

It may seem premature – but as people who move very fast, in general, it seems we barely have cooled Christmas day dinners before we are moving on to New Year’s talk. 

I want to savor Christmas more – of course now (writing for the 26th knowing how it goes, then editing just now after a full night sleep) – now I can actually enjoy it – the stress of expectations is done – the gifts – wondering will they like them or think they are enough – or too practical – or you name it for stress… they simply like to open see even if they know what they’re getting… And funny the classic excitement of opening things and then rest of the day they are ignored under the mess of papers until a few days later when new boredom slips in and maybe will look at the presents now… Sorry those are the cynical thoughts that creep in – but SURELY mostly the gift recipients are gracious and thankful. (And we did have a good day, an overload of goodness and goodies, and some time to savor in the glow of Christmas) – (and funny the first gift my youngest grabbed to use? Socks…)

And so for me I’m VERY thankful. I’m also SO thankful that there is another side – opposite side of the Christmas crush – and I’ll get back to Christmas JOY. I’m thankful for the last few days have been good.  And I’ve focused on Christmas Joy best I can,  which is INDEPENDENT of any world stress or personal stress. Christmas JOY is Jesus celebration for we needed a Savior and we got one. 

I’m thankful for waking up. I’m thankful for today. I’m thankful for the adventures coming up.

And thankful we can take this time before the countdown to New Years to talk about Christmas still and see a physical and emotional connection in the countdown to Jesus’s birth from His ancestral line. The people may not have known the “how” but Jesus did.

The last gift I opened Christmas day was one from my Mom – and it was an adorable little nativity scene… It was God’s Way to bring the humbleness back in, the JOY, the life, the light.

So, long way to get here, but how DID Jesus craft His own narrative? I always referred to the old testament like being the home movies for Jesus, He wants us to watch, know, appreciate, and understand their anticipation… We unwrapped this Jesus, let’s enjoy the benefits. 

OK – Adam and Noah are back there before Jesus – but we will start with Matthew’s account (chapter 1 verse 1) – bringing down the “countdown” list from Abraham.

Abraham – Issac – Jacob – Judah (and his brothers who were saved from starvation by their brother Joseph and his amazing coat and his amazing trip to Egypt)

Judah’s relatives lived in Egypt too – and then got out of Egypt from Moses’s leading.

Judah is the father of Perez and Zerah (through Tamar – which is a very INTERESTING story in Genesis 38 – Tamar who married Judah’s sons but got no where with them – then was not given proper due by Judah and yet when she dressed up like a lady of the evening disguised and met up with Judah who later learned and had to acknowledge her – and their sons – twins)

So Tamar and Judah – gave lineage to Perez the father of Hezron, then Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz, whose mother was Rahab 

(OH Rahab! Remember her? the prostitute that helped Joshua’s people get out of a bind and then was helped because she asked to be set aside? and her family rescued!)

And Boaz – we know him – with Ruth – the Moabite who followed her mother in law  widowed Naomi, after her husband died and she gleaned in the fields then was given favor by Boaz (and by God) – and lived in Bethlehem with Naomi – eventually marrying Boaz…

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.

(KING DAVID!!! – oh from the mighty killing of Goliath to the slingshot swinging of protection from God…David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife (that’s Bathsheba)
Solomon the father of Rehoboam –  Abijah – Asa – Jehoshaphat, (Oh Jehoshaphat!!!!  Remember he had to trust God and when a surrounding battle was about to take him and his people, God told him to send out the praises and that God would go ahead – and God did – and won the battle for them)
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram – Uzziah – Jotham – Ahaz – Hezekiah – Manasseh – Amon – Josiah – Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
(Remember they were exiled in Babylon? a prescribed number of years and they had to trust that the Lord would take care of them! He did! and then they got to move back and restore the temple and read the book of the law which they did not know about)

After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel – Zerubbabel – Abihud – Eliakim – Azor – Zadok – Akim – Elihud – Eleazar – Matthan – Jacob – Joseph

Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

WHEW! Jesus’s lineage is like a family tree or home movies of an old testament countdown to the Messiah – known only to David and those from him that a Messiah would be born under the house of David.

Whew – I am glad someone kept track of that!

Thanks God – Thanks Jesus, the Word made Flesh, for Your birth. God with us – Immanuel.

Amen

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Matthew 1
New International Version
The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.