SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22 2024 - TWO SIDES OF THE STORY
December 22, 2024
Deborah Laforet
“Two Sides of the Story”
Let us pray. May the words from my lips and the meditations of my heart be guided by
your Spirit and be words of wisdom for this day. Amen.
What was it Zeke said last week during the pageant about genealogies in the bible?
Boring! And this is the second one to which I’ve made you listen this Advent season. Three
weeks ago, Marci and Rodrigo read Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus for us. This week - sorry, Ron
- you’ve heard the second genealogy of Jesus as found in the gospel of Luke.
Last time we talked about the importance of knowing our roots and being connected to
our ancestors. Matthew was addressing a Jewish audience, and connected Jesus to his Jewish
ancestors. Luke though is speaking to a broader audience. If you didn’t fall asleep, you would
have noticed that Luke’s genealogy blows right by Abraham, which is as far as Matthew went,
and goes to Adam, the first person God created, who Luke names, “son of God.” Luke also
traces Jesus’ lineage through his mother, which was very unusual at that time, and sometimes,
even at times today.
Last time, I quoted Rob Bell on Matthew’s genealogy, from his book, What Is the Bible?
Bell explains why Luke goes through the mother’s line. He writes, “What does Luke continually
show us? The Jesus who is for everybody is found among the poor, goes to the edge, the
margins, and embraces the least and unexpected. He is the one who tells stories about lost coins,
lost sheep, and lost sons.” Bell tells us that the reason this genealogy goes all the way to the first
human is because Luke wants to tell the bigger story “about the salvation of all humanity through
this Jewish Jesus, so he’s trying to get his audience to see the worldwide humanity of Jesus,”
thus going past the Jewish ancestors to the beginning of humankind.
Today I want to look at these genealogy stories in a different light, in light of an
experience I had this week and in light of our fourth candle of love being lit today.
On Monday night, I attended an Oakville Town Council meeting - on purpose! The
Interfaith Council of Halton, of which I’m a part, had been told that there would be a motion
brought to Council about creating a boundary around worship spaces that nuisance protests could
not cross. The motion was to explore this idea before enacting it. The Interfaith Council was
there to show their support.
The meeting started at 6:30 Monday evening. After an hour long police report and a two
hour debate about a motion on a towing bylaw, we started the conversation on this protest motion
at almost 10pm (!).
How many of you have been to a town council meeting? It was an experience. The
process that evening was to hear from delegations of groups or individuals that would speak on
the motion, and then for the councillors to debate, and then to vote on the motion. There were a
lot of delegations there that night to speak on both motions.
This is what the room looks like. At front is the mayor and the councillors. They sit in a
semi-circle facing the audience, with the mayor sitting in the middle. There is a podium to speak
in the middle of the room facing the counsellors. The other half of the room contains the
audience, and those who had come to speak. They face the councillors in straight rows with an
aisle down the centre, kind of like our space, but smaller.
I was sitting in the front row, and what I eventually noticed was that those in favour of
the protest motion were sitting behind me and those against the motion were sitting across the
aisle. So this divide over this motion was also a physical divide in the room.
I’m not going to go into the details of the motion. If you’re interested, the meeting was
recorded and you can find it on the Town Council YouTube channel, or see me after church.
What I want to discuss is that divide in the room, and the divide wasn’t just over this motion
about protests; it was over Israel and Palestine.
There were folks who represented Jewish populations, who were in favour of this
motion. They talked about the harm protests have done, the harsh words that had been said
against Jewish people. They also talked about the right to worship and doing that without fear.
They also went back in history and spoke of pogroms against Jews in the 1800's and early
1900's, and the need for a place like Israel and the attacks on Israel since its creation.
There were also folks who spoke against the motion. They talked about the need for
freedom of expression and our right to protest. They pointed out the vague descriptors of
'nuisance protests' and 'vulnerable spaces.' Who defines these and makes these decisions? They
also talked of Palestine, genocide, and the innocent people and children who are dying there.
I am aware that there was a Town Council meeting, almost a year ago, in January of
2024, almost a year ago, when there was a motion on the floor to name what's happening in
Palestine a genocide. Many delegations had shown up to have their say and Mayor Burton,
during that meeting, declared the motion out of order. Many of them had felt silenced and upset
by this decision. I think the protest motion on Monday night allowed several of these
delegations to return and have their say. To Mayor Burton's credit, he let them talk.
The divide in our world is strong. We see it in conflicts around the world in Ukraine and
Russia, Syria, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen. There is a lot of unrest and people are afraid.
We see it in the US, between the Republicans and Democrats, and we see the same divide here,
as the centre crumbles, and left and right become further apart.
Our two genealogies, from the gospels of Matthew and Luke, are very different. One
speaks to a Jewish audience while the other doesn’t. One follows Joseph’s lineage while the
other follows Mary’s. One starts with Abraham and ends with Jesus, while the other starts with
Jesus, mentions Abraham, but goes past Abraham to Adam, the first human. Both are
genealogies of Jesus, but different - different focus, different goals, different purpose.
What brought these two lineages together? We could say Jesus, but, in looking at our
own family trees, it’s not us that brings two different branches of a tree together. It’s our parents.
Mary and Joseph, and their love, is what brought these two lineages together. Joseph almost left
Mary when he found out she was pregnant. Then we would have had only one family tree for
Jesus. But he didn’t. Our bible tells us that it was an angel who told him to stay, but I like to
think it wasn’t just the angel, but that he had feelings for Mary. He could have awoken from that
angelic dream and dismissed it and Mary. But he chose to stay. He and Mary came together to
raise this messianic child of whom prophesies were made. Their love for each other and for this
child brought them together, through thick and thin, to raise this child in a dangerous world, in an
occupied land, ruled by dictators and soldiers.
Divisions are not new. They weren’t new when Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet
about two warring families, and it’s not new now, but there are moments in history when divides
cause wars or make room for dangerous leaders to take control. What we know from stories like
Romeo and Juliet or Mary and Joseph though is that love is what bridges those divides. And it
doesn’t have to be a romantic love. Jesus showed us that love can heal, can shift people’s
thinking, can lift up those who have are pushed down, and his death showed the most extreme
kind of love, sacrificial love, dying for his beliefs, dying for us, dying as an example of love over
violence, love as resistance, love stronger than death and pain.
On Monday night, while the rest of the Interfaith Council left, I stayed and listened to
every voice, hearing their pain, their frustration, their anger, and their fear. I kept an open mind,
never dismissing one’s opinion over another. In fact, I sat there wondering how we, as a church,
might offer space for these folks to hear each other and find a way to bridge this divide.
Compromise and peace may be a long way off, but hearing each other, sharing each others
stories, and maybe even offering compassion to one another might be possible, if they could find
folks willing to mediate and guide them through that process, with love. Always with love for
each and every one of them. This kind of love is not easy. Anger, annoyance, frustration, and
fear are easier to hold onto and harder to let go, but love, if we give it a chance, can fill every
corner, bridge every divide, and bring us together as we work towards a world of peace.
May you be filled with love and may you find those places that need your love. Because
guess what? Love is not a limited resource. The more you have to give, the more that is given to
you. Yes, it hurts sometimes, but love also brings healing, wonder, joy, peace, and it’s an
unlimited resource, so you don’t need to use it wisely. Use it often and abundantly. For this, we
say, thanks be to God. Amen.
Luke 3:23-38
(Introduce yourself. - Do not move or tap microphone.)
Three weeks ago, we heard the family tree of Jesus from Matthew’s gospel. It was
also included in last week’s pageant. Today, I am reading the genealogy of Jesus as
found in Luke’s gospel. Instead of following Jesus’ line through Joseph, we hear it
through his mother Mary. Also, the genealogy actually is not part of the birth story
in Luke’s gospel, but follows the baptism of Jesus, when he was 30 years old.
I am reading from the third chapter of Luke, verses 23 to 38.
23 Jesus was about thirty years old when he began his work. He was the son (as
was thought) of Joseph son of Heli, 24 son of Matthat, son of Levi, son of Melchi,
son of Jannai, son of Joseph, 25 son of Mattathias, son of Amos, son of Nahum, son
of Esli, son of Naggai, 26 son of Maath, son of Mattathias, son of Semein, son of
Josech, son of Joda, 27 son of Joanan, son of Rhesa, son of Zerubbabel, son of
Shealtiel, son of Neri, 28 son of Melchi, son of Addi, son of Cosam, son of
Elmadam, son of Er, 29 son of Joshua, son of Eliezer, son of Jorim, son of Matthat,
son of Levi, 30 son of Simeon, son of Judah, son of Joseph, son of Jonam, son of
Eliakim, 31 son of Melea, son of Menna, son of Mattatha, son of Nathan, son of
David, 32 son of Jesse, son of Obed, son of Boaz, son of Sala,[e] son of Nahshon,
33 son of Amminadab, son of Admin, son of Arni, son of Hezron, son of Perez, son
of Judah, 34 son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of Terah, son of
Nahor, 35 son of Serug, son of Reu, son of Peleg, son of Eber, son of Shelah, 36 son
of Cainan, son of Arphaxad, son of Shem, son of Noah, son of Lamech, 37 son of
Methuselah, son of Enoch, son of Jared, son of Mahalaleel, son of Cainan, 38 son
of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam, son of God.
May the Spirit guide our understanding of this holy scripture.