The Jesus of History
advent to epiphany - day 21

Today’s readings: Genesis 49:2, 8-10; Matthew 1:17

"Come and listen, O sons of Jacob;
listen to Israel, your father.

"Judah, your brothers will praise you.
You will defeat your enemies.
All your relatives will bow before you.

Judah is a young lion
that has finished eating its prey.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down;
like a lioness—who will dare to rouse him?

The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler's staff from his descendants,
until the coming of the one to whom it belongs,
the one whom all nations will obey.

All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to King David, and fourteen from David's time to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.

In just over a week we celebrate the birth of Jesus—yes, the sweet-faced infant but also the Messiah who had a family that went back 14 generations. The older we get, the more we appreciate learning about our family tree, about the history of those who went before us. But we can lose track of some of those branches. Resolve to contact a lost or forgotten family member.

-- Catholic Update, “Advent Reflections: Longing for Peace”

taken from advent to epiphany: celebrating the Christmas Season

i am not catholic, but i have a friend in texas that made me think about this, and i think it is cool.