Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 21, 2025

Sermon

Camille Cook Howe
Pastor

Hebrews 12:1–3
Matthew 1:1–16

Questions you might ask yourself after hearing that reading: First of all, maybe just a general why? Why did she do that to us? Or perhaps you are wondering if one of the associate pastors told me, as a prank, that I had to start at the beginning of the New Testament as an age-old Fourth Church tradition. Or maybe you are wondering why you didn’t name your own son Zerubabel. All great questions!

I have never read this text before in worship or ever out loud. The genealogy of Jesus is often brushed over as we rush to chapter two to hear the birth narrative of Jesus at Christmas. But Matthew included this genealogy for a reason, so maybe as we begin this new chapter together, we should “begin at the beginning” as it is recommended in Alice in Wonderland. Begin at the beginning. The first question asked by Matthew’s readers and all subsequent generations is who is Jesus Christ? A nice guy, a radical politico, a misguided martyr, an interesting prophet, or something else altogether? Who is Jesus Christ? The question is always extremely personal.

Matthew is the only Gospel writer to begin the story of Jesus with a genealogy — listing more than forty generations in his introduction. Before telling us about Jesus’ birth or his baptism or his preaching or his miracles or his death and resurrection, Matthew wants us to know where Jesus came from. Matthew starts by setting the bigger landscape about the lineage of God’s people from generation to generation all the way back to Father Abraham. Some of the names listed might conjure up familiar Bible stories, and some of the names are completely unknown. But Matthew’s point is that Jesus is connected to them all and to their families. Jesus is part of the rich tapestry of human history, with its triumphs and trials. And Jesus is part of the greater covenant made by God to all God’s people. It is an interesting way to begin — to begin at the beginning.

This genealogy is not provided for us by Matthew as some list of model citizens for us to look up to and be inspired by. There are people of great faith on this list, but there are also people who are flawed and sinful on this list, and all of them are some combination of both. The point is that Jesus is connected to all of them — all of these people and all of these generations are part of the story of “Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

A few weeks ago, we were at our first Cubs game, taking in the sights and sounds and emotions of the sea of blue when the screens started playing highlight videos. They were highlights of a former player, Sammy Sosa. They were showing some of his greatest hits, and the crowds were cheering like it was all happening live. And then they cut to a place in the stands and zoomed in on Sammy. He was there in the stadium that day, waving to the fans as he watched his former team play. Now I don’t know very much about baseball or the Cubs, but I have heard of Sammy Sosa. He is part of the genealogy of Cubs history, and those videos, and his presence in the stadium, connected the past to the present. If you want to be a real follower of a team or an institution or a church, you must learn some of the names and stories of the people who made it what it is today.

People today feel proud to be part of something that has been built by those who have come before them. People feel inspired by being able to do their part to carry the mantle forward. People feel honored to be connected to the generations before them who have kept the faith and fought the good fight. People feel excited about reforming and building upon the legacies they inherit. That is how I feel about joining Fourth Presbyterian Church — proud to join in the ranks, proud to be counted as part of the rich history, proud to be part of the team that makes this place special and important and sacred, proud to pastor the people in this place connecting the past to present.

This summer I spent time checking out the Fourth Church YouTube channel, and I came across an interview by Fourth Church’s former Pastor, John Buchanan, called “Memories from Clergy,” and it was done about four years ago. Someone was interviewing John over Zoom, and one of the questions asked what surprised him when he arrived at Fourth Church. He talked about coming from a smaller and less complicated church than Fourth Church and being fortunate that there were people who helped him. And then instead of just moving on, John started listing them, starting with someone named Jeanette Krenek, who was his first administrative assistant. Then he mentioned Dave Donovan and John Boyle and Morgan Simmons. He didn’t stop there. He kept going naming people: Linda Loving and Chris Chakoian, John Wilksonson, Calum MacLeod, Nancy, Debra, Ted, Adam, Ali, John, Dana, Sarah, Joe, Keith, Don, Leszek, Judi, Barbara — more and more names he added to the list.

He was creating a genealogy of the people who helped him to be connected in this place, and he said, “What an honor and blessing it was to me to be able to work with an incredible group of talented, smart, devoted clergy and lay people, and I will never ever forget them.” The people who help us on our way and form us in the faith are never forgotten. John’s genealogy connects us to him and to those people and to their shared faith in Jesus. I was so excited that I knew some of the names of the people on John’s list. Chris Chakoian and John Vest and Calum MacLeod and dear Linda, and Leszek is already my new best friend!

We are connected to each other and to the people who have gone before us, and it makes this place sacred, because in this place you are able to connect with your own genealogies, your own lists, the people who have shaped you and the people you hold dear and the people who have gone before you  — parents and grandparents, teachers, mentors, friends, pastors, colleagues, husbands, wives, children. In this place we connect with each other, and we are connected through these people and through the generations to Christ’s church and to Christ himself.

The names of the saints of Fourth Presbyterian Church are all around us. They are in the stories that are told; they are on the walls and doors and windows all around us; they are on the name tags and ID badges; they are typed into the minutes of our reports; they are in the boxes of the Zoom screens; they are stitched in needlepoint on the chair cushions. These names, both known to us and unknown, represent the cloud of witnesses we are part of in this place.

Matthew had the objective of convincing people that Jesus was the Messiah. In writing his Gospel, Matthew wanted to firmly plant Jesus into the history of humanity, not coming from beyond us but from among us. Matthew wanted the readers or listeners to know that they were connected and part of the story. This is a very important thing — in this “age of great disconnection” – to be able to feel like you belong, to feel grounded and attached, to be rooted in a shared story, a common faith, and important work.

You know what John Buchanan said about the people whom he listed? The great John Buchanan who could have just talked about his accomplishments and shared fun stories instead made a list of people and said these people “took me by the hand.” So beautifully put! Because that is what church is about — remembering who has taken us by the hand and then taking our turn doing the same.

Welcoming people in.

Showing them the way.

Telling them the stories.

Helping them when they are lost

Picking them up when they fall.

Cheering for them when they succeed.

Wiping their tears when they mourn.

Sitting side by side through it all.

From one generation to the next, we take each other by the hand, and so the traditions are carried on, and so the faith is shared, and so the love grows.

At the beginning of the book Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, a father is telling a story about a conversation had with his son: “I told you last night that I might be gone sometime, and you said, ‘Where,’ and I said, ‘To be with the Good Lord,’ and you said, ‘Why,’ and I said, ‘Because I’m old,’ and you said, ‘I don’t think you’re old.’ And you put your hand in my hand, and you said, ‘You aren’t very old,’ as if that settled it.”

Hand in hand, one generation to the next, with Christ as our foundation, with Christ as the cornerstone, we will be part of the story — the story of this place and the story of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. That is what we are going to do. OK? That is what we are going to do!

May it be so. Amen.

Sermon © Fourth Presbyterian Church