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Page 24
2016 Worship Guide
December 7, 2016
A Lincoln Daily News Publication
H
ave you ever received a bad Christmas
present? A present that looks nice and
well-wrapped, but when you open it, it is the
exact opposite of what you were hoping for?
Maybe it was socks or underwear, or maybe
it was one of those famous “ugly Christmas
sweaters” - something you would never
leave the house wearing, let alone even try it
on.
In the Gospel of Matthew, before we get to
the more well-known parts of the Christmas
story, we have something of an “ugly
Christmas sweater.”
Matthew begins his Gospel with the
genealogy of Jesus, which is at first a
pretty boring read, like getting socks for
Christmas. But if we stop for a few minutes
and pay attention to what is listed there, we
realize there are some genuinely ugly things
written.
The first of these ugly things we read about
are the sons of Judah he has with Tamar.
This might not seem unusual, until we
remember that Tamar was Judah’s daughter-
in-law. That is not exactly a story of the
family history you want everyone to know.
As we continue with the genealogy we
get more: we eventually come to King
David, but not before we hear about his
grandfather, Boaz, who was born to Salmon
and Rahab. Rahab was a prostitute who
helped Israel conquer the walls of Jericho.
Again, not the best headline for one’s
family.
As we read on we come to King David’s
own “ugly sweater.” David stole the wife
of Uriah, whose name was Bathsheba. He
committed adultery and then murder to
cover up his indiscretion.
There are a lot of skeletons in the closet for
Jesus’ ancestors; a lot of ugly Christmas
sweaters wrapped up to be opened by
anyone who would read Matthew’s
gospel. Why would Matthew include
those unsightly parts of Jesus’ past? Why
wouldn’t God make sure the ancestors of
Jesus were better people, who would look
good on paper when the eyes of future
humanity read them over and over again?
Simply this: there are no better people.
Murder - Incest - Adultery - Prostitution.
Those were all a part of the lives of Jesus’
ancestors. And it is precisely this reason
that Jesus needed to be born.
Ugly Christmas
Sweater
Pastor Jonathan Buescher
Zion Lutheran Church & School -
Mount Pulaski
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