THE  FAMILY  TREE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for  this Tuesday in the Third Week of Advent - December 17^th, is, “The Family Tree.”

TODAY'S GOSPEL

As we listened to the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew this morning - which begins with names - lots of names - 42 to be precise - we are getting a sense of history - and mystery - not just of Jesus Christ - but of every person.

EVERY PERSON MATTERS

Our parish theme for this year is: Every Person Matters.

On the family tree of each person there are names - 42 names - hundreds and hundreds of names. They are the people who got us to this moment of our life.

I have not talked yet to someone who was adopted - who had no idea who his or her parents were - and then they took one of those new DNA tests and they discovered with the results - some of their roots. What would that be like?  I have to keep my ears open for someone who took that path.

What is it like when an adopted person discovers who gave them the gift of life? When it comes to adoption, I’m sure we’ve heard great stories - as well as so so stories. I’m sure we heard of people expressing a greater appreciation of the woman who gifted another couple with her child - because she or they knew they couldn’t handle a child at this time. I’m sure we’ve heard as well a greater appreciation for the mom and dad who adopted a person.

In the last 50 or so years doing one’s genealogy has become more and more significant - and I’ve heard people tell stories that are fascinating.

Growing up we had a picture of a cousin of my mom or dad - who went out to Minnesota - in the early part of the last century -  never to be heard from again. Then years later my Aunt Nora found a note on her door in Galway, Ireland  - from some people on a golfing trip to Ireland and they were checking out their roots. Nora wasn’t home - but they left a USA  address. My aunt Nora sent the address to my sister in Brooklyn - who wrote to them saying, “We might be relatives.” We were. Then my sister Mary flew out to a family reunion they were having - now in South Dakota. It was great. They were super, super happy to get the lowdown on their family tree - much of which they didn’t know about.

THREE QUICK MESSAGES

Okay, I asked myself, what would be 3 messages - I don’t know why I picked 3 - but 3 things that can happen from doing a genealogy:

1) We are a Cast of Characters. Check the family tree - and you’ll find a great cast of  characters and surprises. We’ll come up with people we’d brag about and people we’d like to keep in the closet. Looking at Matthew’s list for Jesus in today’s gospel, commentators like to point out the 5 women mentioned and not mentioned: Tamar seduced her father-in-law, Rahab was a prostitute, Ruth who was loyal beyond blood but most loyal to her in-laws, Bathsheba whom Matthew doesn’t list by name. She’s described as the mother of Solomon and the wife of Uriah - the one who got pregnant by David and whom David let him get killed. Then there was Mary - the mother of Jesus who is called the Christ.

2) Being a Loner Is Not an Option. We’re not in this alone. We can’t get a ticket to the dance called “life” without a mom and dad - and their moms and dads - and their moms and dads - and back and back and back and back and back. We’re not just one domino. John Donne said it loud and clear: “No man is an island, entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent.”  I love the football story - that happened somewhere along the line. A quarterback was doing fabulous on some college team - but he never gave credit to his offensive line - who protected him every time. So on one play - it was planned -  they just fell down and let the defense of the other team come in and crush the quarterback. He got the message!

3) We’re All Related - if we all go back far enough. Is this why various folks like to say to another. Hi Bro or Sis or Cous. As we listen to history and social studies and world situations, we keep hearing that various parts of the world - especially the countries ending in “an” - but many other places - Africa - the Middle East - are very family and tribal oriented - and those places are really not part of a nation yet. Blood is thicker than water. Families - extended families are more to be trusted. It isn’t until we realize we’re all brothers and sisters and God is our Father, and we’re in this together - that this world isn’t going to work. I’ve often thought the only way this world will be united - would be that we discover there is another world on some other planet  - and they are perceived to be enemy - and dangerous.