Dear Church Family and Community,
“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: … 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.” – Matthew 1:1, 17
After Shell and I got married, one of our wedding presents was a book chronicling my family tree, on my mother’s side. It was really fascinating to learn more about the people from whom I descend. Their stories were uniquely theirs, but they also undoubtedly help to tell my own story. One of our family’s mantras is “You can’t know where you’re going unless you know where you’ve come from.” My genealogy is a great reminder that I am not just an individual but a product of a family line.
As Matthew begins the New Testament, he starts with Jesus’ genealogy. Two thousand years later and many more generations removed, this may seem quite peculiar to us. Nevertheless, for Matthew’s audience and culture, your family tree was certainly more important than you the individual. For our audience and culture today, we often are the polar opposite, centering on the individual and not the family tree. In presenting Jesus’ ancestors, Matthew is calling both audiences to God’s fulfilled promises, God’s faithfulness, and that in Jesus, our hope is found.
This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent. We, the Body of Christ all over the world, welcome this season of expectation, waiting, and celebrating Christ coming into the world. Advent reminds us that Christ has come, Christ comes today, and Christ will come again. Here at HBIC, we focus on four themes that Christ’s coming brings into our world: hope, peace, joy, and love. Though seemingly universal, these themes are only fully realized in The Coming of Jesus.
Two years ago, we journeyed through Advent by looking at Mary and Our God of Hope, Anna and Peace from God, Elizabeth and Joy (Celebrating God’s Blessings), and Love: Christ in us, Christ for us, and Christ with us. Last year we returned to hope, peace, joy and love by looking at Joseph, Simeon, Zechariah, and of course Jesus our Christ. We learned again that our God of Hope still grants us peace, still invites us to lives of joy that celebrate blessings, and that The Coming of Jesus is God’s most perfect gift to our world.
This year, we will journey through Advent through the words of Matthew, and his telling of the Christmas Story. We will begin this week, by revisiting hope as found in The Coming of Jesus. To prepare for this week’s service, I would like to invite you to spend time over the next few days, intentionally meditating on Matthew 1:1-17. To help you reflect, I would like to ask you to focus on the following questions:
- What do the names in Jesus’ genealogy teach about God’s faithfulness?
- God worked uniquely in Jesus’ genealogy. How has God worked uniquely in your life?
- How did the coming of Jesus bring hope?
- How does Jesus being Immanuel, God with Us now, bring you hope?
- What is one hope you have in God that is helping to carry you through this season?
The Coming of Jesus changed everything. God took on skin and moved into the neighborhood. Jesus who spoke the world into existence came to live and love, to show us how to live and love to please God. The Holy Spirit opened the eyes of all who believe, reminding us to hope in the Lord God, who fulfills all promises, works together for our good, and blesses us with Jesus. Jesus is our hope, for such a time as this. Jesus is our hope, for he is God’s love and grace to us. Jesus is our hope, just like he has always been for the world.
God bless you all, and take care.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Hank
(Matthew 1:1,17)
P: (717) 561-2170, ext. 104
E: pastorhank@harrisburgbic.org
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