Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary - 8 September

Readings: Micah 5.1-4a OR Romans 8.28-30; Psalm 12/13; Matthew 1.1-16,18-23

Who do you think you are? is a popular television programme. It was first broadcast on the BBC almost twenty years ago and was subsequently taken up by television channels in many countries. It answers to a deep and universal desire in human beings, to know something about our ancestors. My identity comes in large part from the generations that produced me, and I am naturally curious about them. On the tombstone of the Irish poet Seán Ó Ríordáin are inscribed the words 'Níl ionam ach ball de chorp san mo shinsir', 'all I am is a part of that body which is my people'.

When you go exploring you never know what you will discover and this is part of the drama of the television programme. There will probably be saints and scoundrels in my family history, suspicious gaps, unexplained appearances and disappearances, perhaps a famous (or infamous) person or two. The most memorable moments in the programmes are those that generate surprise or sadness, perhaps deep dismay or great delight.

Today the Church celebrates the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. It does so by reading his genealogy as it is given in Matthew's gospel. There are famous people there, Abraham and David, Solomon and Saint Joseph, and likewise names that mean nothing to us.

And the list includes five women, about each of whose appearance on the list there is something unusual. Tamar is the first, remembered for having seduced her father-in-law Judah, from which encounter was born Zerah, an ancestor of Jesus. Next comes Rahab, the mother of Boaz. She was a prostitute who helped the Hebrews in their conquest of Canaan. So not a lover of her own people, then, a heroine to the Hebrews and presumably not so to the Canaanites. But she is exalted by the early Christians as a woman of faith (Hebrews 11.31; James 2.25): she was on the 'winning side'.

Ruth is the third woman mentioned, one of the most attractive figures in the Bible, for her gentleness, loyalty, courage and generosity. What is odd about her is that she too was a foreigner, a Moabitess, who adds her blood to the lineage of the Davidic dynasty, and so also to Joseph and to Mary. If you are looking for racial or ethnic purity, you will not find it in the family of Jesus Christ!

Not mentioned by name - a skeleton in the cupboard? 'that woman'! - is Bathsheba, with whom David committed adultery having arranged for her husband to be killed. The mother of King Solomon, she is the first woman to be presented in the role of Queen Mother, a role that took on great importance as the house of David continued to rule.

There are also many things to be said about each of the men mentioned in the genealogy but the gospel of Matthew draws our attention particularly to the women.

Mary's oddness is described in the second part of today's gospel: 'this is how Jesus Christ came to be born', and we hear about his virginal conception. The point is not in the first place to highlight her purity against the backdrop of the family history, though it does that also, very effectively. The point is to remind us that within and through this very human history, with all its moments of light and darkness, God is working out his purpose. The Holy Spirit is at work in a unique way in the conception and birth of Jesus, clearly. But it is not the first time the power of God has been at work in the history of this family, for the same Spirit spoke through the prophets who guided them as he came mightily upon the kings of Israel when they were anointed.

We celebrate Mary because she is the mother of the Christ, the anointed One, the king of the house of David born of her to be the saviour and redeemer of all people. We also belong within this genealogy, therefore. This is who we think we are, parts of that body which is this people, the people of God, now the Body of Christ. The story continues in our lives, in the light and darkness we add to it. We are probably no better or worse than our ancestors, but the Spirit is always present, animating the body of which we too are members and guiding its history. If our contribution to the story includes moments of sadness and dismay, we pray, with Mary, that by God's grace we may also contribute in ways that will evoke surprise, delight and gratitude.