Daily Mass Gospel Reflection- Family Trees

THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT
Matthew 1:1-17

Friends, today we read the opening lines of Matthew’s Gospel—
the first words that one reads in the New Testament. They are a listing of the genealogy of Jesus,
the forty-two generations that stretch from Abraham to Christ.
If the Word truly dwelt among us, then he was part of a family that, like most,
was fairly dysfunctional—
a mix of the good and bad.
And this is such good news for us.

Let me highlight just two figures from Jesus’ family.
First, Ruth, who was not an Israelite but rather a Moabite, a foreigner.
Some of you reading this feel like outsiders,
not part of the “in” crowd, looked at askance by others.
Well, the Messiah came forth from Ruth the foreigner
and was pleased to be her relative.

Then there is Rahab, a prostitute living and working in Jericho.
Are there people reading these words who feel like Rahab?
Who think that their whole lives have been sunk in sin? Well,
the Messiah came forth from Rahab the prostitute,
and he was pleased to be her relative.

The good news of Christmas is that God himself
pushed into the dysfunctional and ambiguous family of man.

+++The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.
After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Joseph,
the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is
called the Christ.
Thus the total number of
generations from Abraham to David
is fourteen generations;

from David to the Babylonian
exile, fourteen generati<
ons;
from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,
fourteen generations.

Well, the Messiah came forth from Ruth...

Indeed. Wherever you find the tRUTH, you'll find Ruth.

Yet if it weren't in the Megillah who would ever believe it?

Now here's something fun:

מגילת רות, Megillat Ruth (the name of the book, because it's a scroll) = 1089, 33 x 33.

The storyline involves a threshingfloor.

The etymology of the word "area" links up to a threshingfloor. Nobody wants a detailed analysis but here's a general point of reference.

"Area" is also the basis of the metric unit known as the "are". It's generally out of use but it's from where the hectare is derived .

An "are" is an area 10m x 10m, which in feet is 33ft x 33ft.

I learned that when Ingenuity came on the scene. There were many news articles at the beginning of the Mars2020 mission, describing the plan for getting a little Ingenuity off the ground.

The main thing was that Perseverance would need to scout out an airfield, later named "Wright Brothers Field" from which the flight demos/proof-of-concept could take place:

After commissioning is complete, the rover and helicopter teams will search for the best natural airfield in the vicinity. The airfield is a 33-by-33-foot (10-by-10-meter) region where the helicopter will always take off and return. It will fly within an area called the flight zone. The rover will visit the top candidate airfield, using its navigation cameras to provide detailed surface imaging and digital elevation maps.
Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Landing Press Kit

Ingenuity's historic first flight took place on Monday, April 19, 2021 -- aka Patriots Day. The exciting news was much about how that was even possible. Explanations mainly focused on the... Revolution required to overcome the non-atmosphere on Mars, a mere 1% of Earth's. 2400 RPM

So a helicopter flew on Mars for the first time. A space physicist explains why that’s such a big deal

The little book about the origin of David, the Book of Ruth contains 85 verses, the last 5 being:

18. Now these are the generations of Perez; Perez fathered Hezron:
19. And Hezron fathered Ram, and Ram fathered Amminadab:
20. And Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon:
21. And Salmon fathered Boaz, and Boaz fathered Obed:
22. And Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David:

And,

The cost of Ingenuity is widely reported as $85 million:

Program
NASA has invested about $85 million to build the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, accommodate it on Perseverance, and operate the helicopter on Mars. LINK

Wiki - "NASA spent about $80 million to build Ingenuity and about $5 million to operate the helicopter."

Necessity is the mother of invention.
Ingenuity is the inventor of opportunity.

Ergo,

Toys "ARE" US! 😊

Ingenuity -- Now at 36 flights and counting.

Well, the Messiah came forth from Ruth, so

Happy Chanukah!

(If taglines were onions...)

and Mars ... a Warrior AND a Thresher!

Poor Mars, doesn't he have a bad reputation though, a real hothead. 😡

How was he ever supposed to find a bride, a classy woman of valor no less? A gal who could really calm him down and bring out his good and sensitive qualities? That's a tall order.

David couldn't build the Temple because he was a man of war. But his son..

And that's the genius about little Ingenuity, affectionately known as Ginny (a common nickname for a... Virginia). Whoever designed her logo used NASA's iconic red worm font, and then Ginny replaced the Scarlet Letter A in MARS with her own body. It's like something out of a Psalm of David.

The result of a little Ingenuity is as plain as Day: Mars got his very own bride to hold and love, his very own... MRS!

Mrs. Helicopter, designed just for Mars. So beautiful. Special Delivery, through Perseverance.

Romance novels... left in the dust.

I have to marvel at the ingenuity of it all. So simple...

Rabba bar bar Ḥana says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: And it is as difficult to match a couple together as was the splitting of the Red Sea, as it is stated in a verse that speaks of the exodus from Egypt: “God makes the solitary individuals dwell in a house; He brings out prisoners into prosperity [bakosharot]” (Psalms 68:7).
God takes single individuals and causes them to dwell in a house by properly matching a man to a woman. This is similar to the exodus from Egypt, which culminated in the splitting of the Red Sea, where He released prisoners into prosperity.
Sotah 2a.8

Lentils are named that because they are shaped like little lenses. Once they're cooked though who could tell, it's all so mushy.

Pearls, to make a pretty necklace, for Leah:

Roy Orbison - "Leah" from Black and White Night

Speaking of Missions from God, you ever notice what the Apollo Mission logo designers had done with the A/alpha? The crossbar became the journey to the Moon. (The Moon traditionally symbolizes the Kingdom of David.) The "belt" became a string of pearls, even like Wilma's famous three-rock necklace, a Hanna-Barbera Production.

Makes sense for how to get to the 4th rock from the Sun. 1, 2, 3...

Unlike the worm lettering on Mars, the Apollo letter A/Alpha became a...

Lambda Λ, with an important mission playing on through. 🏌️

That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

It was a "Major Announcement", for all the souls.

I put these accounts out there because while I hope readers will find them interesting and entertaining, documentation is important for the sake of the whole Megillah. Otherwise who would ever believe it?

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