The good news for the rule breakers. A sermon for the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time on Matthew 1:1-16 but Rev. Tim Russell.
What can a list of names at the beginning of Matthew possibly tell us about Jesus?
In Matthew 1:1–16, the genealogy of Jesus is filled with people we might not expect to find in the family tree of the Messiah—women and Gentiles, outsiders and rule breakers, saints and sinners. Rev. Tim Russell explores how these names aren't simply a record of where Jesus came from; they offer a glimpse of the kind of Messiah he will be.
From Jesus’ family tree to the table where he was raised by Mary and Joseph, and ultimately to the table Jesus sets for others, Tim traces a story of radical welcome. In a world constantly demanding that Jesus choose between “us” and “them,” Jesus chooses both—making room for the people others would leave out and offering a simple invitation: pull up a chair. We’ll make a place.