Multimedia Advent Devotional – Week 4-4, Wednesday
2022:
Week 4, Wednesday:
- Scripture: Matthew 1:1-17 (Nancy Penton)
- Reflection (Karen Sculley)
- Prayer (Glen Penton)
- Artwork: “Advent Candle” (Tennessee, USA)
- Music: “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” (Simon Khorolskiy) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHd2zQQsHUw
Reflection on Matthew 1:1-17 (NRSVCE) – “An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, 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 Aram, and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab 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 King David. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah 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 Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel 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 Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim 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 Messiah. 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.”
Today’s Scripture is one of those passages that we tend to skip over during the year and mainly reserve for the Christmas season. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I zone out a bit when I’m listening to all those names. But they’re oddly comforting in a way, with the alternating repeated phrasing and unfamiliar names. They kind of remind me of that song “Dem Bones,” inspired by Ezekiel 37 and repeating which bone is connected to which-other bone. I have trouble remembering the names of bones or anatomical features, but thankfully if I need some kind of medical attention or surgery, I don’t need to know all that. It’s important that they’ve been named, studied, and understood, because it gives me great peace to know that many competent and credible practitioners who know more about this than me have gone before me. I don’t have to figure it all out from scratch myself. Similarly, all these names in this genealogy in Matthew chapter 1 give me great confidence because Christianity is not just another set of rules, or a great way to live your life, or an ancient tradition that’s been passed down, although all of these things are part of it. The most important part is that Christianity is centered on Christ Jesus, a real person, with real parents, real grandparents, real ancestors that stretch all the way back to the beginning. We have our ancestry.com info today – it’s pretty exciting when we can trace our family lines back 3, 4, even 7 generations, but my goodness, what a genealogy we have here in Scripture! I don’t need to understand every aspect of it but it’s comforting to realize that the readers for whom this was first written down would have known exactly how important these details were. Christ Jesus has come and was born into a family that valued the importance of tracing lineage. Many old and specific prophecies were verifiably fulfilled, details of which are highlighted in this Scripture’s list. Many credible and competent witnesses and scholars have and continue to confirm that Christ Jesus is who He said He was. A large part of that is that there is a preponderance of evidence that He was born, lived, died, and rose again at specific times and places. Hundreds of witnesses attest to this, and many of them never changed their story, even going to their deaths because of that. The question for us today is: will we welcome Christ Jesus as He really is? He’s more than a good teacher. He’s more than just a charismatic leader. He is Emmanuel, God with us, Jesus, the hope of the world!
Each short Multimedia Advent Devotional is an invitation to set aside time each day during a typically busy season preparing for Christmas to rejoice in the coming of our Savior, Christ Jesus, and to respond to God’s invitation to us to join with Him in what He’s doing today.
Advent is a season of the liturgical year observed in most Christian denominations as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Christ at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. Advent is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity and is part of the wider Christmas and holiday season. Advent is a period in which we are invited to set aside time each day during a typically busy season preparing for Christmas to rejoice in the coming of our Savior, Christ Jesus, and to respond to God’s invitation to us to join with Him in what He’s doing today.
This collaboration is brought to you by Liberty Vineyard Church
