The Incarnation ☦⛪ Sermon before Christmas, at Holy Annunciation Orthodox Church, Brisbane

Matthew's opening genealogy is a statement of historicity. When God chose to enter humanity, he didn't merely appear, as gods in Greek mythology did. He fully took on the human condition: its struggles, its temptations. As Hebrews reminds us, we have a high priest who truly understands us, because he became one of us. After humanity's fall in Genesis, God made a promise (unearned and undeserved) that he would one day bridge the gap between Creator and creation. Forty-two generations later, that