The reading of the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ from
the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew is an opportunity for us to meditate on
the mystery of the Incarnation in a special way, since we see that God became a
member of a specific human family, having a specific role in world history. We
note especially the names of the women, whom the Evangelist includes in the
holy genealogy, because, unlike the male ancestors, only five women are named:
Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and, finally, Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus.
Actually, Bathsheba, the wife of King David, is not even clearly named, but is
called “the wife of Uriah,” on account of her former husband, Uriah the
Hittite, whom King David murdered, in order to marry her. Except for the Most
Holy Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary, all these women were foreigners; Tamar
and Rahab were Canaanites; Ruth was from Moab, and Bathsheba was a Hittite. The
Evangelist includes these important names, because, in this way, he shows the
universal purpose and mission of the Messiah, as a Savior and King for all
peoples and nations.
But, there is a deeper meaning for the naming of these four
women. The story of these women is a history of human sin. First, Tamar was the
wife of both of the elder sons of Judah, since, after the death of her first
husband, Er, she married Onan, the second son of Judah. When Onan died, Judah
promised to give her to his son Shelah, when he was old enough, but Judah did
not fulfill this promise. Therefore, Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute,
and seduced her father-in-law, so that she bore twins by him. Second, Rahab
actually was a prostitute, but she protected and concealed the Israelite spies,
when they reconnoitered Jericho and the surrounding areas. Third, Ruth was a
Moabitess, the wife of a man, who abandoned the Promised Land and went to Moab
during a famine, because his faith was not strong enough to be confident that
God would provide sufficiency for his People, just as He did in the days of the
Patriarch Isaac, who remained in the Land despite terrible hardships. This man died in Moab, and, after that, God
gave Ruth a new husband, Boaz, from whom the entire Davidic dynasty comes.
Naturally, after what has been said above, there is no need to note the evil
deeds of the wife of Uriah, Bathsheba.
The point of all this is to notice the power of the Lord to
change evil into good. Let us consider, “all these stories contain the memory
of very great evil, but then what was the result?” The coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, Who was the descendant of such people. God has the power to transform
every sin into a good effect. We ought to take this truth as the great axiom of
our life—“God only wants us to worry about sin before we sin. However, Satan
wants us to worry about sin after we have sinned.” When we have sinned, we
should confess our sins with true contrition and deep faith that God will “make
all things work together for good for those who love God.” In heaven, Saint
Tamar, Saint Rahab, Saint Bathsheba, and her husband the Holy King David and
Saint Ruth have no reason for shame, despite their evil deeds, because God
transformed their deeds into part of His plan. In the same way, our past should never give us any cause for shame
on account of the goodness of the Lord our God.
If we have faith, even the evil that we have done is a part of the
Father’s loving plan. After we have turned from our sins to God, we only need
to have trust and confidence. Like Saint Paul the Apostle, we can even boast
about our weakness, if we recognize the true strength in God.
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