Barbara Lundblad, “Preaching on ‘Irregularities’,” Parish Practice Notebook (Winter 2002), p. 1-3
“Preaching on ‘Irregularities’”
And we must stumble over the women. Their presence is so odd. There is no prededent for this, really, in all of the Old Testament … (p. 1)
And then the wife of Uriah. Isn’t that sad? They can’t even say her name. But the narrator knew what he was doing. He wanted us to remember, generation after generation, that Bathsheba, who is not named, was always Uriah’s wife. … She was the wife of Uriah the Hittite who shall always be remembered in these genealogies of generations as far more righteous than the king. And so Uriah should be there, named in the genealogy. (p. 2)
All these women who were strangers outside the chosen people—women who were, in some ways, at least to others, a scandal. Women who didn’t seem to know their proper place. … They were women who went beyond tradition and family. And then Uriah the Hittite. What a foolish family tree, and all of it leading up to Joseph who had nothing to do with it.
Except he went beyond all norms of righteousness to take Mary as his wife. He went beyond all norms of righteousness to graft this child, who seemed illegitimate, into his family tree so that this Child of heaven, this Child of the Holy Spirit would also be a child of earth. (p. 3)
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa, 8 and Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
17 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.
1:1 βιβλος γενεσεως ιησου χριστου υιου δαυιδ υιου αβρααμ 1:2 αβρααμ εγεννησεν τον ισαακ ισαακ δε εγεννησεν τον ιακωβ ιακωβ δε εγεννησεν τον ιουδαν και τους αδελφους αυτου 1:3 ιουδας δε εγεννησεν τον φαρες και τον ζαρα εκ της θαμαρ φαρες δε εγεννησεν τον εσρωμ εσρωμ δε εγεννησεν τον αραμ 1:4 αραμ δε εγεννησεν τον αμιναδαβ αμιναδαβ δε εγεννησεν τον ναασσων ναασσων δε εγεννησεν τον σαλμων 1:5 σαλμων δε εγεννησεν τον βοοζ εκ της ραχαβ βοοζ δε εγεννησεν τον ωβηδ εκ της ρουθ ωβηδ δε εγεννησεν τον ιεσσαι 1:6 ιεσσαι δε εγεννησεν τον δαυιδ τον βασιλεα δαυιδ
δε ο βασιλευς εγεννησεν τον σολομωνα εκ της του ουριου 1:7 σολομων δε εγεννησεν τον ροβοαμ ροβοαμ δε εγεννησεν τον αβια αβια δε εγεννησεν τον ασα 1:8 ασα δε εγεννησεν τον ιωσαφατ ιωσαφατ δε εγεννησεν τον ιωραμ ιωραμ δε εγεννησεν τον οζιαν 1:9 οζιας δε εγεννησεν τον ιωαθαμ ιωαθαμ δε εγεννησεν τον αχαζ αχαζ δε εγεννησεν τον εζεκιαν 1:10 εζεκιας δε εγεννησεν τον μανασση μανασσης δε εγεννησεν τον αμων αμων δε εγεννησεν τον ιωσιαν 1:11 ιωσιας δε εγεννησεν τον ιεχονιαν και τους αδελφους αυτου επι της μετοικεσιας βαβυλωνος
1:12 μετα δε την μετοικεσιαν βαβυλωνος ιεχονιας εγεννησεν τον σαλαθιηλ σαλαθιηλ δε εγεννησεν τον ζοροβαβελ 1:13 ζοροβαβελ δε εγεννησεν τον αβιουδ αβιουδ δε εγεννησεν τον ελιακειμ ελιακειμ δε εγεννησεν τον αζωρ 1:14 αζωρ δε εγεννησεν τον σαδωκ σαδωκ δε εγεννησεν τον αχειμ αχειμ δε εγεννησεν τον ελιουδ 1:15 ελιουδ δε εγεννησεν τον ελεαζαρ ελεαζαρ δε εγεννησεν τον ματθαν ματθαν δε εγεννησεν τον ιακωβ 1:16 ιακωβ δε εγεννησεν τον ιωσηφ τον ανδρα μαριας εξ ης εγεννηθη ιησους ο λεγομενος χριστος
1:17 πασαι ουν αι γενεαι απο αβρααμ εως δαυιδ γενεαι δεκατεσσαρες και απο δαυιδ εως της μετοικεσιας βαβυλωνος γενεαι δεκατεσσαρες και απο της μετοικεσιας βαβυλωνος εως του χριστου γενεαι δεκατεσσαρες
W. H. Auden, “The Temptation of Saint Joseph,” Divine Inspiration, p. 17
John Dominic Crossan and Jonathan L. Reed, Excavating Jesus, p. 78-84
Stephen Mitchell, The Gospel According to Jesus, p. 96 f.
The Gospel According to Jesus
Joseph’s forgiveness of Mary, in what could be called the essential Christmas legend, is such a profound symbol, and such a perfect embodiment of the gospel according to Jesus, that it constitutes an undoing, a redoing, a regeneration of the male myth of Adam and Eve …
If we focus our attention on Joseph, as Matthew does, and make this a legend of salvation, then Joseph becomes the second Adam. He is given a second chance, as we all are, constantly, a chance to reenact a life drama that we have wretchedly botched at least once before, and to do it right this time. Whether Mary is pregnant by another man or by the Holy Spirit, in Joseph’s eyes she has been seduced, as Eve was, and no external angel will ever tell him differently. His first reaction is to retreat into his woundedness and blame her, and hence be cast out of Eden. When he refuses to be seduced himself by the poison of the Accuser, when he can finally let go of the offense and of his offended self, and forgive Mary with all his heart, he finds that he is again standing in Eden, the garden of delight, the kingdom of God.
Morton Smith, quoted in The Gospel According to Jesus by Stephen Mitchell, p. 81
Morton Smith
But Matthew [often takes] Old Testament verses out of context to make them prophecies of gospel stories. In such cases the starting point was commonly the story; the editor’s problem was to find a text that could be forced to fit it. Therefore, we can be almost certain that the story of the virgin birth was also given to him by tradition, not invented from the text he twisted to suit it. If so, where did the tradition come from? Why was the story invented? … Perhaps also because the irregularity of his birth had to be explained.
18 Luke 1:27
21 Luke 1:31
23 Isaiah 7:14
25 Luke 2:21
21-23 Imaging the Word, Vol. 2, p. 92-95
23 John Donne, Sermons on the Psalms and Gospels, p. 178
23 Geza Vermes, The Changing Faces of Jesus, p. 228
The Changing Faces of Jesus
The Mishnah, the oldest of the rabbinic codes, defines a virgin as a female who “has never seen blood even though she is married” (mNiddah 1:4). …
… In fact, rabbis seriously debated whether bloodstains found after the wedding night in the nuptial bed of a minor, i.e., a “virgin in respect of menstruation,” marked her first period or the consummation of the marriage. So the idea of conceiving on the first physical opportunity and thus becoming a “virgin mother” was not a mere flight of fancy of the overimaginative rabbinic mind.
… virginity and virgin birth were much more elastic notions in Jewish antiquity than Christian tradition allows.
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit; 19 and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit; 21 she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.
1:18 του δε ιησου χριστου η γεννησις ουτως ην μνηστευθεισης γαρ της μητρος αυτου μαριας τω ιωσηφ πριν η συνελθειν αυτους ευρεθη εν γαστρι εχουσα εκ πνευματος αγιου 1:19 ιωσηφ δε ο ανηρ αυτης δικαιος ων και μη θελων αυτην παραδειγματισαι εβουληθη λαθρα απολυσαι αυτην 1:20 ταυτα δε αυτου ενθυμηθεντος ιδου αγγελος κυριου κατ οναρ εφανη αυτω λεγων ιωσηφ υιος δαυιδ μη φοβηθης παραλαβειν μαριαμ την γυναικα σου το γαρ εν αυτη γεννηθεν εκ πνευματος εστιν αγιου 1:21 τεξεται δε υιον και καλεσεις το ονομα αυτου ιησουν αυτος γαρ σωσει τον λαον αυτου απο των αμαρτιων αυτων 1:22 τουτο δε ολον γεγονεν ινα πληρωθη το ρηθεν υπο του κυριου δια του προφητου λεγοντος 1:23 ιδου η παρθενος εν γαστρι εξει και τεξεται υιον και καλεσουσιν το ονομα αυτου εμμανουηλ ο εστιν μεθερμηνευομενον μεθ ημων ο θεος 1:24 διεγερθεις δε ο ιωσηφ απο του υπνου εποιησεν ως προσεταξεν αυτω ο αγγελος κυριου και παρελαβεν την γυναικα αυτου 1:25 και ουκ εγινωσκεν αυτην εως ου ετεκεν τον υιον αυτης τον πρωτοτοκον και εκαλεσεν το ονομα αυτου ιησουν