Matthew - humble beginnings

Discovery #1:

The genealogy in the beginning (1:1-17) intimidates me. It somehow chastens me that I cannot just jump into receive the 'good news', that it took so long for the world to 'beget' Jesus, that somehow, I cannot jump in, as I am, to receive Jesus' word. I have to remember the history - all the kings, mostly bad ones, that Israel went through in order to arrive at Jesus. A gift, a much awaited gift. By then, knowing that human fallibility and tendency to sin had everything to do with the long wait, I am not sure about the 'good news'; it seems more apt to expect the wrath of God to descend on the failure that we are...

#2:
Jesus had fragile beginnings (1:18-25). He may not have even come into existence had not God had a helping hand to make it happen. (of course, God didn't only have a 'helping' hand, it was his plan to begin with; but with what fragile material reality God chooses to execute his plan! We humans are so good at covering all bases, just in case plans A, B, C don't work...) After reading this humble, humble beginning, I feel strangely strengthened in the baby Jesus; this baby will survive; he is going to be OK; he survived the worst of beginnings; nothing can get him now.

#3
In contrast to Jesus' magical, fragile beginnings, Herod's scehming seems like overkill - like using a machine gun to kill an ant. (2:1-18) 'Pretend you're giving homage to the child to ascertain his whereabouts so that I can destroy him!' What amount of violent resentment had to have been there to want to kill a humble little baby. Fear, somehow Herod knew the fear of God and responded in the wrong way. Somehow, Herod's big, overkill move in the wrong direction could only have ended in Herod's death.

#4
Humbly, Joseph takes Mary and newborn son to Galilee, because he was afraid of Archelaus, Herod's son who succeeded the throne. No overkill, just a humble move.

#5
John the Baptist strikes me at the start as a harmless crazy man. (3:1-12) The kind of crazy man that keeps you quietly amused in an uncanny way; sort of like the little man's hero; friend of the humble. '...one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.' And Jesus, the one, appears. Suddenly, John doesn't seem so crazy any more. Even what he utters is reasonable and sensible: 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?' And the rest of us, spectators, want to drop to our knees; for calling John the Baptist a crazy man; we loved him, but made fun of him, and were only mildly amused by his calls to repentance. The dove descends on Jesus, ' This is my son, the Beloved with whom I am well pleased.'

#6
Jesus grows stronger. Even as he is tempted by the devil during his fast (4:1-11), I feel sure that Jesus will overcome. Fasting, Jesus says: 'one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.' Again: 'do not put the Lord your God to the test.' And again: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.' All are scriptural quotes. Scripture is all he needed to overcome the temptations of hunger and fasting. Imagine saying that during a 40-day fast: one does not live by bread alone but by the word of God. I don't know that I can do that - it's accepting death as a real possibility, and refusing to give in to feed the fear. That's what it takes to overcome human cycles of sin. The sting of death is sin; scripture alone can remove the sting; and all you're left with is the possibility of death; no fear, no anxiety, peace of mind.