Both St. Matthew and St. Luke have genealogies of Jesus. St. Matthew begins his gospel with a genealogy showing Jesus as a true child of Israel, from Abraham through David up to his birth. St. Luke by contrast puts his genealogy after the Annunciation and traces Jesus genealogy back to Adam! In doing so, the gospel writer situates Mary’s “yes” as the culmination of the plan of God for all eternity. If she hadn’t said, “May it be done to me according to your word” salvation history would have been irrevocably altered. What a vivid reminder of the importance our own “yes” to God. God counts on us to bring about the divine plan by bringing compassion, forgiveness, justice and love into the world.
