ІN CHRIST, WE HAVE NO CAUSE FOR SHAME

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.