Today's Gospel

A Figment of Christian Imagination?

Welcome back to Radical & Relevant. Today's reading is from the very beginning of Matthew's Gospel 1:1-17. Pay attention to when you start to tune out. It's a reading we're all very familiar with. It's a reading that challenges us to stay focused. Just pay attention to when you start to tune out or attempted to tune out. The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah, and his brothers. And Judah, the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar. And Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab. And Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David, the king.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah. And Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abija, and Abija the father of Asa, and Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Jehu, and Jehu the father of Isaiah, and Isaiah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the Babylon deportation.

And after the deportation to Babylon, Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zodak, and Zodak the father of Akim, and Akim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations. And from David to the Babylonian deportation, 14 generations. And from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ, 14 generations.

So what are we reading here? And it's hard to stay focused. Right? Hearing all the names, you're wondering what do these names mean. Most of these names, most of us are not familiar with. And you're like, "Okay, what's going on?" And who decided to start a book with that? They talk about it. Every book writing course on the planet would say, "Okay, straight out of the gate, you need something to hook the reader. And if you look at the other three gospels, they achieved this much more. But generally considered that Matthew was approaching it in a different way. And what was he trying to do right here? Well, he was trying to prove-- not trying to prove, he was proving that Jesus fulfilled a whole bunch of prophecies that are set out in the Old Testament. We don't pick that up because we're not that familiar maybe with the Old Testament. But most of all, the thing that the writer was most trying to establish was that Jesus was an actual person who lived in a specific time, in a specific place, had a specific heritage, and that his heritage could be traced all the way back through these generations. 32 of them. If you want to sell an artwork-- if you want to sell an artwork, you need to prove the provenance of that artwork. You need to prove where did you get the artwork from? If it was given to you, who gave it to you? And where did they get it from? If you bought it, where's your receipt for buying it? Or where did you buy it? And did you buy it in an auction? And let's have a look at the auction records. And then, if you bought it in an auction, who put it to the auction? And how did they get it?

And the best provenance for a painting leads all the way back to the artist, to someone buying it from the artist, or from the artist's most reputable dealer. Tons of fake art in the world today. I saw a couple of documentaries last year about how people are creating fake art and very connivingly and maliciously making it look like it came from 100 years ago or 400 years ago. And so, the providence of artwork has become more important than ever before, and it has always been important. And so, what the writer is trying to do here with Jesus is put together this providence, is put together his history and say, "If this place, in this time, this man walked the earth." Why is it important? Because for 2,000 years, from the very beginning, there have been a group of people who have believed actively or passively that Christianity and Jesus is a figment of Christian imagination. That we made it up, that we made him up, that he didn't really live, that he didn't really exist, that he didn't really do this and that and the other thing. But then we made him up. And so the writer is saying, no, hold on a minute. People of faith, be reassured in your faith. This man actually lived at a specific time and place. People of no faith might want to rethink this. Might want to ask yourself, "Okay, who was this Jesus guy?" Because he did actually live at a specific time, in a specific place. There's history. There's proof. Draw faith from it or see it as an invitation to explore the curiosity of who really is Jesus.

And so, yes, we read a reading like this in our minds can tend to drift. But let's go today into the world with a firmer belief that Jesus wasn't a figment of Christian imagination. He isn't a figment of Christian imagination. And there's more and more people in our society today who believe that, but that he was a real man, lived in a place, lived in a time. He also was true God. Let's go into the world with faith today and look at the people and the situations in our lives through the lens of faith. Have a great day, and remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.