The Gospel reading for today is the genealogy of Jesus. It may have been fictionalized but it does make for interesting reading. Jesus’ family tree is a colorful one. It includes a murderer and an adulterer, Jews and Gentiles, the famous and the no-bodies, the powerful and the powerless. In a list that is usually all male, there are six females and several of them were known prostitutes.
One can read multiple meanings in this genealogy. One thing evident is that when one looks at one’s roots, a person’s story is like no other. There has never been one like me before nor will there be another one like me again. Cars or computers coming out of a factory are all the same. They are interchangeable. They may differ in colors but they are all exactly the same. And because of where we came from, we are one of a kind, unrepeatable, and all made to order.
I get a feel if this reality when in some quiet moments, I find myself singing a melody only I know in my mind. I move about to a certain beat that only I can hear. There is a certain rhythm uniquely mine that goes through mu whole life. Sometimes sad, often joyful. Sometimes low and sometimes high. It is my song. It is my life.
Christmas is the birth of the Christ. But it is also a celebration of the blessedness and uniqueness of every life that is born.