A reading from the gospel according to Matthew 1:1-17

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
3 Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram,
4 Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse,
6 Jesse the father of David the king. David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.
7 Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asaph.
8 Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
Joram the father of Uzziah.
9 Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.
10 Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah.
11 Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.
12 After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor,
14 Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud,
15 Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob,
16 Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.
17 Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Christ, fourteen generations.

Reflection:
1. Matthew started his gospel by enumerating the forefathers of Jesus because his primarily audience were the Jewish people. For them, genealogy is very important. At once, the gospel shows Jesus as the son of David and Abraham. Therefore, Jesus has the right to be the heir of the throne of King David.
2. Five women are included in the genealogy and four of them have uninspiring background. In fact, three of them are guilty of sexual immorality.

Go here to read reflection on the women in the genealogy of Jesus.

3. God really works not as humans do. He chose Abraham, a nomad and not a powerful king, to become the father of His chosen people. He chose Jacob, not Esau the elder son. He chose David, the youngest son and not Reuben the eldest.
4. God keeps His promises. He promised a savior and fulfilled it. Let us trust in Him.
5. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises. He alone is the hope for the redemption of mankind.