DECEMBER 29th, 2024 PASTOR DON PIEPER
The Kingdom Of Heaven John 1:1-5,10-14 / Matthew 1:1-16
“FROM DISGRACE TO GRACE-MAS”
This Fall we explored David's legacy, of God's promise to bring from David's family an eternal kingdom in which his descendant, the messiah, would bring God's promises to life, where God would live among his people embodying grace and truth, ushering in what he'd call the kingdom of heaven.
To draw a line from the promises made to Abraham and David, Matthew begins his gospel with a riveting genealogy... It reminds me of the days my father researched the Pieper family tree. I had a dream in which a conversation between my father and oldest brother almost nixed the idea.
My brother asked, “Dad, have you ever thought about researching our family tree?”
My Dad answered, “”You've met your Uncle Clarence and your aunt Irma, the witch, haven't
you? Do you really want to know where that comes from - and if there's any more like them...?
This I know, there aren't any kings or German noblemen in our family tree, but you might be
interested to know that you're descended from a guy whose cousin knew the Kaiser's cook's kid.”
And Jesus' family tree? Sounds like a bunch of old names you could hurt yourself pronouncing, names like: Amminadab, Zerybabel and Jehoshaphat! (Gesundheit!) Thank you...? Then there's guys like Salmon, Asa and Ramand one has to wonder, is this a list of names or a wildlife refuge?
(Matthew 1:4,5, 8, 12)
Every family has at least one weird relative. If you don't know who it is, it's probably you. But this odd list of strange characters is Jesus' tree - all the way back to Abraham! That's Abe in the long shaggy beard! Scruffy looking character, I know! He was a nomad, you know.
His being the starting point is Matthew's way of pointing out to his primarily Jewish-Christian audience, Jesus is one of us! He's Jewish, through and through. He's a descendant of the father of faith and an heir to the covenantal promise God initiated through him, to be a blessing to all nations!
Another familiar name on the list is David. He's so famous that his father and son, Jesse and Solomon, are also famous. God promised David a dynasty that would have eternal ramifications.
Abraham, David, Solomon - these are names one might expect to find on the Messiah's family tree. But there are other names, names that Matthew did not spare the feelings of his Jewish peers to include. For example, there are more examples of evil, idol-worshipping kings then there are good ones. There are liars and scoundrels, thieves, prostitutes and foreigners and, well, a lot of bad blood...in Jesus' blood. It's like the Dad, sharing his genalogical discoveries with his family: 'We're going to talk about great-great grandpa Boris. This is his picture”, holding up a wanted poster.
It's one sad, sordid tale after another – perhaps none more so then that of Judah and Tamar, mentioned back at the beginning of verse 3: “Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah whose mother was Tamar...” (Matthew 1:3) Their story is told in Genesis 38 and can be found right smack in the middle of the story of Joseph. Remember him – the technicolor coat dude and star of Broadway?
Yup – that's the one! Well, one of Joseph's angry, lying brothers that tossed him in a pit, talked heatedly of killing him, before selling him off into slavery, was Judah. Nickname: Mr. Attitude!
In Genesis 38 we learn that Mr. Attitude has just left his family. So its not just Joseph Judah has issues with. He can't seem to get along with anyone in the family,not that they're the most functional lot
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His brothers, Simeon & Levi just killed their brother-in-law; brother Reuben has been bedding one of his father's concubines; and they're all keeping secrets. Frankly, it's a mess, and Judah figures he can do better. So, naturally..., he goes to...Abullam! Where? Who knows! Don't ask. The clan there are enemies of his father. Once there he hooks up with a woman from the rival clan. Talk about in your face, Dad, kind of behavior. It's an obvious rejection of his father and family. That's Judah for ya.
Years later the Caananite gal and he wind up with three kids. The first one they name, 'Er'. Sounds indecisive. What must've that been like growing up knowing you were an error, a mistake. Not good. That's Judah for ya. Then, as a further slight to his father, Judah sets his son up with another foreigner, a young woman by the name of Tamar. Er's thinking that's no mistake – Tamar's a beauty!
But sadly Er is undeserving. A chip off the old block, we're told that “Er was a wicked man in the Lord's sight, so the Lord took his life.” (Genesis 38:7) Now the custom then was that widows were to be taken in and cared for by a brother of the deceased. The idea was to provide a son to the widow so she would have someone to guarantee her financial security. That responsibility fell to the next brother, Onan. Should've named him, O-no, cause that's his response. “Oh no! Not me!”
Well, God's not pleased with him either. Muerto-muerto. With two of his three sons now dead Judah shows his true colors and sends his daughter-in-law back to her ma', until such time as his third son is mature enough to care for her, but long after he's come of age Judah is still shuning Tamar....
That's when she takes things into her own hands. Masquerading as a prostitute she agrees to have sex with him only after procuring his walking staff and family seal. Kind of like a motel clerk asking you to leave a credit card. Later, when she is brought to him accused of public immorality, she produces his 'credit card' to reveal his impropriety. Busted! Only then does he come clean.
It's one sad, sordid story, one that ends with a report that their clandestine affair, their disgrace-ful union, led to a discovery of greater signifance than any of them could've guessed: “It was discover-ed that she was carrying twins...: Perez and Zerah...” (Genesis 38:27f) This sordid tale, then, is part of Jesus' back story: “Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah whose mother was Tamar..” (Mt 1:3)
Matthew makes sure to include the names of both twins and Tamar to emphasize the scandalous affair.
Tamar is the first of five women mentioned in Matthew's genealogy, four of whom would've raised eyebrows, like Ruth, the foreigner, Rahab, the prostitute, and Bathesheba who committed adultery with David only later to scheme and manipulate in order to get her son crowned. Tamar's inclusion is nothing shy of scandalous. Not only is she guilty of prostitution but she isn't even native of Israel. Yet, here she is all the same, a woman of shame and disgrace. And her sons are born out of that disgrace - conceived out of the illicit and immoral union of their mother and grandfather.
It's worth pondering what in the world Judah and Tamar and their twins are doing in the family tree of God's only beloved Son! It's worth soaking up the reality of God's mysterious and wondrous plan for our salvation that it is out of the utter disgrace of Judah and Tamar's indiscretion that is born one who brings hope and grace to a wounded, wounding world! How God's grace surprises us!
If I was Mathew, the thought of becoming a reclusive family historian would've seemed pretty enticing. Tracing Jesus' family tree reveals that it grew a lot of nuts, and was pretty darn shady! Matt concludes with a names utterly unknown to biblical history – Abiud, Azor, Zakok, Akim, Eliud – who? -3-
It would seem that it's God's will to move us from disgrace....to grace-mas! There's no greater human need than for such a transfer to occur. For some, like Jesus, our disgrace is inherited. We have family who have dishonored us. We have histories that haunt us. We too have a shady back story.
Others of us have brought that disgrace on ourselves. We've done things we've regretted. We've said things that have left loved ones wounded. We too have lied and kept dark secrets.
And all of us live in a culture in which we soak up ungrace and disgrace from those around us. Lewis Smedes, a professor at Fuller Seminary, wrote a book drawing connections between shame and grace, titled, Shame and Grace. For him, “Guilt was not my problem as I felt it. What I felt most was a glob of unworthiness that I could not tie down to any concrete sins I was guilty of. What I needed more than pardon was a sense that God accepted me, owned me, held me, affirmed me, and would never let go of me even if he was not too impressed with what he had on his hands.”
(from Lewis Smedes' Shame and Grace)
Smedes goes on to say that he's identified three common sources of crippling shame and dis-grace: secular culture, graceless religion and unaccepting parents. Secular culture tells us a person must look good, feel good and perform good or they're no good. Graceless religion tells us we must adhere to the rules, that failure brings eternal rejection. Judgmental, joyless, condescending Christians project this to us. Unaccepting parents convince us we will never meet their approval, with statements like: “Aren't you ashamed of yourself?” Like city-dwellers who no longer notice the polluted air, we breathe in the atmosphere of ungrace unawares, but thankfully in the face of an unearned gift, grace happens!
Remember Forest Gump and the floating feather? It could've been named, grace happens. Over and over again we meet angry, hurting people desperately starving for grace and time and time again Gump delivers it – to a little girl abused by her father, he communicates, you're not junk. You matter.
To a colored colleague in arms, who is treated as inferior because of his race and speech, Gump communicates: You're more than the color of your skin. You're valued. You matter – so much so that Gump puts his own life at risk in order to save his fallen colleague in the heat of battle.
To an angry vet, convinced that God has given him a raw deal, persuaded by the culture around him that his value as a man is diminished due to an injury-caused handicap, Gump suggests, you are more than your raw parts. It's what's in here...that counts. You have value. You matter.
To Jenny, a woman who's searched all her life for meaning, for unconditional love and grace..., and has cheated on him in the process, he says: You matter so much I will always be here for you. I see you. I see the beauty noone else does. Just like that day when I looked around and I couldn't tell where heaven stopped and earth began. I see a child of God. Jenny, you matter. {*} And as he sends his son off to school, and the credits roll, the feather floats off to land anew, as if to say, 'Grace happens...'
Such grace was meant to fall on you...! For the Lord of all that is, all that was, and all that is yet to come says to you: 'I know you. You see, I have a back story too. I know the pain of disgrace. I've had family issues as well, but you are more than your parts. I see you. I see the beauty that noone else sees. I see a child of God. I see a masterpiece still in the making. I see you and I say to you, you matter. And if you'll let me, I'd like to show you just how much...! I love you......this much!'
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As God promised long ago, “I will pour out a spirit of grace...thru the family of David..” (Zech. 12:10) Or as John proclaimed: “The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen his glory, (he)... who came from the Father, offering God's grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
Or in the words of Paul: “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich became poor that by his poverty he could make you rich..., who told me, 'My grace is all you need.' So now I can boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work thru me.” (2 Corinthians 8:9; 12:9)
That's his heart for you as well, that you not only know about His grace, but that you receive it, internalize it, run with it! To you who know the pain of shame and disgrace – Merry Grace-mas!