A Wake for the Living

I have never been to a wake. I have heard a lot of stories about wakes--many of which are, honestly, hilarious. In case you don't know what a wake is, I'll fill you in: it is a vigil held beside the body of someone who has died, typically performed by family members and and close friends of the deceased. In years gone by, it served a useful purpose, because people who had been pronounced (key word pronounced) dead would sometimes revive! So, folks held wakes to make sure they didn't put someone in the ground who was not actually dead. So wakes have a long-standing association with the dead (or the thought-to-be dead!).

However, I think what we have in the passage we will look at this Sunday is actually "A Wake for the Living." We are invited to a vigil with the dead, but it is for our benefit. As we begin looking at the life of Jesus, we notice that, in two of the Gospels, the writers included a genealogy of Jesus; essentially a list of his dead ancestors. Why? Is there value in this? Are we to just skim over it so we can get to the real story? Or, do these names of the dead to function something like a "wake" for us who read this?

This Sunday, we will look at the dead ancestors of Jesus as we make our way through "The Story of God." I think you will be shocked, amazed, and totally encouraged as we ponder Jesus' family tree. Still not convinced? Join us Sunday!

Blessings,

Jim