Third Wednesday of Advent – 17 December 2025
– You can ponder on the picture. For a method of praying with pictures click button below.
– You can pray on the words of Scripture. For methods of praying with scripture click button below.
– You can follow the suggestions in the daily ‘Reflection’.
– You can listen to the music
Today’s Scripture
Matthew 1:1-17 ESV
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham was the father of Isaac,
and Isaac the father of Jacob,
and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar,
and Perez the father of Hezron,
and Hezron the father of Ram,
and Ram the father of Amminadab,
and Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
and Nahshon the father of Salmon,
and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab,
and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth,
and Obed the father of Jesse,
and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,
and Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
and Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
and Abijah the father of Asaph,
and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat,
and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,
and Joram the father of Uzziah,
and Uzziah the father of Jotham,
and Jotham the father of Ahaz,
and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
and Manasseh the father of Amos,
and Amos the father of Josiah,
and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers,
at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
And after the deportation to Babylon:
Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,
and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
and Abiud the father of Eliakim,
and Eliakim the father of Azor,
and Azor the father of Zadok,
and Zadok the father of Achim,
and Achim the father of Eliud,
and Eliud the father of Eleazar,
and Eleazar the father of Matthan,
and Matthan the father of Jacob,
and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary,
of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations,
and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations,
and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.
Reflection
Today’s gospel may not make for the most riveting reading. A list of names giving the ancestry of Jesus. But interspersed among the names of lots of fathers we find the names of few women, each of them of particular significance. In a very male-centric tradition those women stand out as being especially unexpected people for inclusion. But they invite us to notice that God includes and involves those whom polite society disregards. Tamar, unjustly treated by her husband, resorting to prostitution to make her husband fulfil his obligations; Rahab a prostitute; Ruth a foreigner; Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, made an adulteress by David’s lust. Each one of them, along of course with Mary, a vital part of Jesus’ heritage, worthy of inclusion in his story. A reminder that God chooses and involves those who may often be considered unlikely and unworthy. Jesus continued the pattern, choosing some very unlikely people to spend time with and to be his friends.
How does it make you feel to realise that God chooses and works through some very unexpected people?
Bring those feelings into conversation with God.
Today’s Music
He is among us, The Porter’s Gate (feat. Zach Bolen)
O Wisdom, you come forth from the mouth of the Most High. You fill the universe and hold all things together in a strong yet gentle manner. O come to teach us the way of truth.