Matthew: a gospel whose opening words would not necessarily win a prize for catching our attention. But by putting the account of Christ’s birth right after the family tree, Matthew shows us how it is connected to the broad passage of time and humanity that has come before—and how we might see the new life born in our midst.

Patrick Hunnicutt begins a series of Advent sermons exploring how the gospels frame our understanding of the coming Christ in their opening pages. Today’s Scripture lesson is Matthew 1:17-25.