May 2026

GENERATIONS OF FAITH

Matthew 1:1-17

1 This is the genealogy [a]  of Jesus the Messiah [b]  the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2  Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

3  Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

4  Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

5  Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

6  and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

7  Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

8  Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

9  Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

10  Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

11  and Josiah the father of Jeconiah [c]  and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

12  After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

13  Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

14  Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

15  Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

16  and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

17  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.

I don’t know about you, but I always used to skip over the first seventeen verses of Matthew. “Why read this stuff?” I often reasoned. “I can’t pronounce half the names, and they don’t make sense anyway. Matthew must have been overly involved with detail when he decided to put this in his gospel.”

If one looks more closely, this is hardly the case. These verses are alive with the faith of the people of God over many generations.

We remember Abraham, “the Father of Nations,” and the wondrous promises God made to him. We see that God’s promise to Abraham is coming true in Jesus, The Messiah.

We remember David, the great and glorious King. We read how the promise of God traced from Abraham, through David, unto Jesus.

WE are startled to find the names of four women in this list. (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba – wife of Uriah). Startled because men dominated official genealogies in that day. Startled because the worth of children was often traced to the worth of the faither. Startled because of these four women, three who were clearly Gentiles, or outsiders of the Jewish faith. Startled because Tamar was a victim of neglect, Rahab was a prostitute, Ruth was a risk-taker, and Bathsheba was a victim of sexual abuse.

The Messiah, Jesus Christ, came from the depths of our human condition. This genealogy reminds us how God works so wonderfully in and through all sorts of people to bring about God’s purpose. In these seventeen verses we see that Matthew was not just some ordinary zealous “number cruncher.” He wanted us to know who this Messiah was and from whence he had come.

He had come from the less-than-perfect, but faithful generation s of people who called upon the name of the One, true God.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Give thanks to God for those of your ancestors who brought the faith to the next generation. Ask God for the strength and wisdom to do the same for the generations that will follow after you.

God is counting on us!

Pastor Doug

April 2026

Stations of the Resurrection

In my years of parish experience and in conversation with other clergy I have often been struck by the contrast between the common observance of Lent and Easter.

In the case of Lent, it is clearly and enthusiastically marked out as a particular season in the Church’s year. This season of Lent is usually supported with bible studies, devotional readings, midweek services, soup suppers, giving things up for Lent and special offerings. It begins with Ash Wednesday, followed by five Sundays of Lenten themed worship services. We hit Holy Week that starts out with Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday – “Stations of the Cross” worship services. It is a season the whole Christian community is aware of and engaged in, both in church and out of it, during the week and on Sunday. Non-churchgoers are aware of it and sometimes participate in it.

Easter, though, is very different. Although equally a season, lasting fifty days to Lent’s forty, it is almost universally treated as a one-off event. By Easter Tuesday, two days into the season, people are usually asking, ‘Did you have a nice Easter then’ as if it is all over. Most think that Easter is over when we say: “Christ is Risen, He has Risen indeed!” The season, of course, continues to be observed liturgically another 50 days, but beyond that there seems little in the way of support. No special Bible studies, devotions, special offerings, etc., and no one to my knowledge has ever recommended taking up something like chocolate or champagne and sticking to It religiously until Pentecost!

So, I offer this adaptation of the traditional “Stations of the Cross”, with its mixture of scripture, reflection, poetry, prayer, music and illustration. Called “Stations of the Resurrection”, provides different ways, perhaps, to experience something of the profound and transforming joy that we can find in our risen Lord, properly encountered. On Sunday, April 19 we will provide meditations in an attempt to help redress the balance between Lent and Easter and to recapture for the Church something of the energy and grace that lie for us in potential of realizing the Jesus is alive and the Risen Lord has created the Church – You and I with a very special mission to go and make disciples and experience God’s Kingdom now as we look toward our final destination – Heaven.

Christ has Risen! He has Risen indeed!

Pastor Doug