Demonstrated Kindness
“An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham…and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth and Obed the father of Jesse…” Matthew 1:1, 5
When was the last time you brushed up on your genealogy of Jesus? The gospel writer Matthew thought it should be the first thing people read in his book—a necessary introduction to the often misinterpreted ‘sweet’ birth narrative of Jesus.
If you read those first verses in the book of Matthew, you are reminded of Jesus’ heritage. To use current slang—it’s “shady” at best. Behind each name is a story—prostitutes, raped women, foreigners, and unwed girls. Through these names and stories Matthew reminds us that Jesus came to us all, through us all—no holds barred.
One of the names in this litany is Ruth. You’ll remember her—she was from the country of Moab, and was considered a foreigner in the town of Bethlehem, where she was finally taken in by a rich kinsman named Boaz. Demonstrated kindness to the foreigner is not only part of the Hebrew Scriptures, but it’s the story and life that we read and live through Jesus.
As a “Small, Friendly, Diverse” congregation, our church takes pride in our rich history with the Triangle and Greenbush, and celebrates the varieties of language, skin tone and heritage. It’s a church that reaffirms who we are and what we believe by welcoming others who like Jesus, and like us, have deep, diverse backgrounds.
In 2008 we will have another opportunity to express our love and belief in action by welcoming the family of Peter Sulureh from Liberia. There is a ministry beginning which will organize our efforts in real ways to offer hospitality to this family. In the up-coming weeks you will be hearing more about the “Sulureh Resettlement Ministry.” I hope that you will consider sharing in this larger congregational effort as part of your mission to this church and to Christ himself.
As we move from seeing the babe of Jesus at Christmastime, to realizing and understanding his revelation to us in the season of Epiphany, let us look put our love and commitment to him into action.
In ministry with you,
Pastor Amanda