(Photo info: The icon, Tree of Jesse, by created by Victor of Crete in 1674. (Wikimedia Commons))
Understanding Jesus’ biblical account of his human ancestry can help draw us closer to the universality of our Church and each other.
Two genealogies in the New Testament trace Jesus’ human history, connecting him to the divine: Matthew 1 and Luke 3:23-38.
Father John Antony, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith, explained that both Gospel readings serve unique purposes. In Matthew’s Gospel, he begins by listing names “unfamiliar to most people,” he said, linking Abraham, the father of Judaism, to Jesus.
Luke begins with the infancy narratives of Jesus and St. John the Baptist before tracing Jesus back to Adam, the father of all humanity, and ultimately God.
“It’s trying to show Jesus is here for everybody. Jesus came to save the whole human race. That’s really emphasized by the Gospel of Luke because he’s trying to show that Jesus descended from Adam and that Jesus is the new Adam. Just like we all came from one man, Adam, and we’re all fallen because of his sin, this new Adam is going to touch all of us and save us with his grace,” Father Antony said. “One reason to pay attention to who Jesus is connected to in the genealogy, whether Abraham or Adam, has an impact on all of us. Just like Adam’s sin impacts all of us, Jesus’ saving grace impacts all of us.”
In Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, Father Antony said there are “some unsavory characters,” whether it’s the mention of how “David became father of Solomon, whose mother (Bathsheba) had been the wife of Uriah” — worded in a way that emphasizes he was born out of an affair — or the mention of Rahab, a prostitute.
“I think what that part of the genealogy is trying to say is that all families have black sheep in them, and that’s OK because God can still work through that,” Father Antony said. “He can write straight with crooked lines. As we look at our own genealogy, we don’t have to whitewash our own unsavory characters because Jesus didn’t.”
Matthew’s genealogy is the Gospel read in the afternoon on Christmas Eve, the first within the four Christmas Masses. According to a 2021 article by theology professor John Bergsma published by the St. Paul Center, the Gospel immediately establishes Jesus’ right to the throne and fulfillment of the prophecies in the Old Testament. Father Antony said it’s like a “runway” to move forward from the past and into the new future that Jesus’ birth brings.
“To understand who Jesus is you have to know where he came from, who he came from” in his humanity, he said. “Genealogy is not just a question of who are my ancestors, but who am I, implicitly. Same for Jesus — who did he come from? They are a part of his DNA, part of the makeup of his human nature. That’s why acknowledging our past makes a difference. So too with Jesus.”
While the world is more connected than ever on the surface, particularly with social media, the shallow connections often have us yearning for something deeper, Father Antony explained.
“Getting in touch with your family history and families getting to know their story helps you discover your own story,” he said. “… I think genealogy puts people on the right track to solve this mystery, which is me. I’m the mystery I’m trying to solve. You have this breadcrumb of clues you resolve or solve a little bit of the mystery. That also goes back to the genealogy of Jesus, the greatest mystery.”
Are sacramental records public?
While you might hope to glimpse your great-great-grandfather’s baptismal certificate, the confirmation record of a distant cousin or the sacramental marriage certificate of your long-forgotten ancestors, the Catholic Church generally does not supply them.
Father John Antony, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith and a canon lawyer, said sacramental records are confidential. They are typically only requested by the subject of the record or a guardian if they are minors.
“We don’t make those registries available for genealogists. That’s not the purpose for them. The purpose for them is sacramental and spiritual. It’s great people investigate their family histories … but that’s not typically what we’re holding sacramental registries for,” he said. “You have been changed forever when you are baptized. … Because a person’s baptism is so crucial, we’re very, very careful.”
All sacramental records — baptism, confirmation, holy orders, marriage — or if an annulment is approved, are notated on the back of a baptismal certificate at the parish where the person was baptized. Father Antony said it is typically the pastor’s responsibility to contact the pastor at the church of the person’s baptism to update those records.
“The records are in a sealed vault. Every church should ideally keep their registries in a fireproof room,” Father Antony said, adding that his parish has a room of metal interior walls that few people can access.
