Day 2 · The Nativity Fast
The Son of David, the Son of Abraham
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”Matthew 1:1
Reflection
Today the Church remembers the holy Apostle Matthew, whose Gospel opens with a family tree. It can look like a list of names to skip, but it is a confession of faith: Jesus is the son of David, heir to the promised throne, and the son of Abraham, the promised blessing for all nations. The list holds kings and nobodies, saints and notorious sinners, and four women besides Mary, two of them foreigners. God worked through all of them. He is not embarrassed by our families or our histories either.
A prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of David and Son of Abraham, you entered a real human family with a long and tangled history. Through the prayers of your holy Apostle Matthew, help me to trust that you can work through my story too, with all its gaps and wounds. Amen.
Carry this with you
Give thanks for one person in your own family through whom the faith reached you.