(Image: Tree of Jesse illustration based on the Hortus deliciarum of Herrad of Landsberg 12th century)
”Although much has changed from Jesus’ day to ours, this has not: a small percentage of the world’s population lives in luxury, and the majority live in poverty. For example, about half the people in today’s world struggle to survive on less than $2.50 (£1.50) per day. Those who subsist on $1.25 (75p) per day make up over a billion of the world’s 7 billion people…” (Brian Mclaren, We Make the Road by Walking, Ch 17)
This week’s readings contain the genealogies of Jesus from Luke and Matthew which differ. This has been the subject of some controversy. You can read more about this on the wikipedia page linked below but I’ve pasted a quote for those who are interested.
“Two major proposals concern the divergence of names in the two genealogies: (1) Luke presents Mary’s genealogy, while Matthew relates Joseph’s; (2) Luke has Jesus’ actual human ancestry through Joseph, while Matthew gives his legal ancestry by which he was the legitimate successor to the throne of David. Knowing which of these solutions is more likely probably is impossible unless new evidence turns up.” (Blomberg, C., 1992. Matthew – New American Commentary)
Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genealogy_of_Jesus, Rose window in Basilica of St Denis, France, depicting the ancestors of Jesus from Jesse onwards.
St Francis' Church 