Christmas Eve services are funny things. There is a rhythm and familiarity about them at most churches, at least that's what it seems like. Do you know what I am talking about? You sing carols. You watch the cute kid routine of "I'm 5-years-old and singing in front of everybody" which causes all the parents to tear up. You read the account of the birth of Jesus. We do all this to celebrate the incarnation of God the Son.In the midst of all this tradition, my mind wandered. For some reason I couldn't help but think of one thing. I just kept thinking about an old prostitute.
Did I just say it like that out loud? It didn't sound that bad in my head while I was typing. Yikes, I cringe as I reread that sentence. Okay, it's really not as bad as it looks. Let me explain...
As Luke's account was being read I looked at Matthew's account. And I was reading through the genealogy of Jesus, my eyes were drawn to one word. I couldn't focus on anything else. It was a word I have researched before, actually it was the name of a person.
The more I looked at her name, the more I saw the irony of it all. Here in the Gospel of Matthew, the gospel that according to scholars was written for and to the Jews - a patriarchal society, amidst the history of the Messiah stands the story of a woman. Not just an ordinary woman, here embedded in this genealogy is a woman of disrepute, a harlot, a prostitute. Found here is Rahab.
It's amazing to think about her story in the context of history. This woman who walked the streets and made her body available for whatever the going rate was discovered a birthright not her own. I know it's a funny way to state what happened, but this is the reality. When she made a deal with Jewish spies she entered into a covenant, which unbeknownst to her inherently held the promise of new life, as she responded to God's moving by protecting His people.
And when she entered into this covenant her life would never be same again. The woman once noted for her self degradation was not only grafted in the culture of God's chosen people, her life was celebrated by the author of Hebrews by being listed as hero of faith in chapter 11 (v31)! Found here is Rahab!To see how upside down this history of the Messiah is leaves me breathless. When you add this woman to the list of people in this genealogy it just doesn't add up. You have a liar & coward (Abraham), a cheat (Jacob), a disappointed widow (Tamar) who sleeps with her deceitful father-in-law (Judah) to bear a child, a murderer & adulterer (David), and then to top it off add in a bunch of unfaithful kings. When you look at this list it doesn't automatically equate with the Chosen ONE, the Lord of life, the promised KING!
I guess this is what strikes me as so beautiful. Woven throughout this lineage of the Messiah is the brokenness of our humanity. Yet each of their stories has been, is being, and will forever be redeemed in the arrival of the Christ child - Immanuel, God with us. In each of their tales of brokenness I see that reality has not changed much over the centuries. In this lineage I see us, I see me. We cowards, we liars, we cheats, we disappointed, we deceitful, we adulterers, we murderers, we prostitutes, yes, WE are all found here.
This is why Christ came as He did from this ancestry. It allows us to see that He is not only willing to but that He does make space for each of us in all our sinful stupidity. But He doesn't leave us there wallowing in our poor estate; He offers us so much more. The Christmas story is more than just a baby in a manger. It's the story of God putting to rights all that was marred in our willful rebellion by the extravagance of His grace found in the gift of His Son. For there in the backdrop of angels singing, cattle lowing, and shepherds watching - Rahab is found.
