Coming from Afar

Seeing how all history is really Jesus’ story

12/25/2022

Mt 1:1-25 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David the king.

What causes the twists and turns in the river of history? What are history’s major moments? We might be tempted to answer that it is the world wars, or the election of presidents or the enthroning of kings or even natural disasters that move the needle of history. That is what we read about in history books. But I would suggest to you that the real catalyst that determines the course of history is the birth of a baby. After all, it was a baby who became George Washington, our first president. And another baby who became Adolph Hitler, who started World War II. In other words, babies change history.

And ultimately all history revolves around the birth of One Baby, namely, Jesus. We even mark the days and months, years and centuries and millennia according to his birthday. B.C. means Before Christ, and A.D. is Latin for Anno Domini, meaning in the year of our Lord. Even the kings of the earth came to worship this Baby at his birth because they sensed this was the central event of history.

Someone sent me a funny meme the other day. It had two men staring at a Nativity scene. One man asked: “Why are your three kings dressed as firefighters?” The other man answered, “Well, the Bible says that the three kings came from afar.” But it was actually a brilliant idea to dress the kings as firefighters because not only did they come from a far, they were also going to a fire. How so? Hb 12:29 describes God saying: “For our God is an all-consuming fire.”

That is, the fire of God’s love is burning hot and out of control, and all time and history basks in the glow of that divine Inferno of love all wrapped up in an Infant. In other words, what we discover in this Baby in Bethlehem is that history is really “his story.” And he stands in the middle of that story like the burning sun at the center of our solar system, and all creation and all time are like planets revolving around the Son, Jesus.

Today we hear the magnificent opening verses of the gospel of St. Matthew. Now, truth be told, most priests and deacons dread reading the long genealogy of Jesus because of all the tongue-twisting Old Testament names. But I love it. Why? Well, because among other things, Matthew wants to make it crystal clear that the catalyst that controls the march of history is not kings or wars or disasters, but rather the birth of a baby.

And it is precisely through the birth of characters like Amminadab and Rehoboah, Abijah and Jechoniah, Eliakim and Eleazar, that the birth of Jesus finally bursts on the scene. Their births made his birth possible. The final line of that genealogy is like a thunderous crescendo of a great symphony, where Matthew writes: “And of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.” I always get a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes when I get to that last line. And by the way, it is not only the crescendo of Matthew’s genealogy, but it is also the crescendo of all history and humanity.

And I think about this too. God could have sent Jesus into the world a hundred different and much more dramatic ways. Jesus could have parachuted down from the sky a fully grown man with bulging muscles like Arnold Schwarzenegger. He could have ridden into Jerusalem on a white horse wearing armor and brandishing a huge sword. He could have appeared as a general of an army arrayed with countless weapons at his command. That’s what I would have done, and maybe you, too, if we were to save the world.

But God decided that his Son would enter the world as a helpless little Baby. Why? Because God knows that what causes the twists and turns of history, what moves the needle of time, is the birth of a baby. And this beautiful Baby would be greater than all the kings and presidents and generals who ever lived combined. And as a down payment of the homage of all humanity, three kings “came from afar” dressed as firefighters to adore the blazing Son of God.

My friends, when you think about your own history, what accounts for its twists and turns? What changes your life profoundly and permanently? Sometimes we mistakenly think it is our accomplishments or our wealth or our reputation. But those things are really small potatoes compared to the birth of a baby, or a grandbaby. When my brother and sister had a combined total of 9 children, my father’s only comment was: “Keep them coming!” My father understood intuitively that what makes our family history meaningful and moves it forward is the birth of a baby, especially grandbabies.

I receive dozens of Christmas letters from parishioners and family and friends. And do you know what all those letters are invariably about? They are full of the stories of the children and grandchildren and sometimes even their dogs and their cats. But not one Christmas letter mentions enthroning a king, or the election of a president, or the military victory of a four-star general. Just like the gospel of Matthew begins with Jesus’ human family, so our Christmas letters are all about our precious family members.

And on Christmas day we remember the most important member of our family is Jesus. Just like Amminadab, Jechoniah, and Abijah, we want Jesus to be part of our family story. Or better yet, we want our family story to be part of his story, which is ultimately the center of all history. Maybe we should all dress up as firefighters for Christmas, too. Why? We, too, all “come from afar” to worship our God, who is “an all-consuming fire”, an Inferno inside an Infant, smiling at the very heart of history.

Praised be Jesus Christ!