FROM THE PARISH PRIEST
 

Gospel Accounts of the Birth of Christ
by Fr. Romey Rosco

        Only two gospel writers tell the infancy story of Jesus Christ, and each tells it from a different perspective.  St. Luke (chapters 1 & 2) centers on the Blessed Virgin Mary, while St. Matthew (chapters 1 & 2) centers on Joseph.  Each wrote independently of the other, and each had at his disposal traditions and sources the other may not have had.  (St. Matthew was one of the original apostles, while St. Luke was a fellow worker with St. Paul.)  Their stories are like two portraits of the same subject, done by two different artists.

        Their words are among the best known and best loved words in the New Testament, capturing the imagination of young and old alike.  There is value in each portrait (each Gospel account) that enables us to better understand the message of God’s Word.

        Don’t let the genealogy of Christ in the first chapter of Matthew dissuade you from continuing.  He wanted to prove that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah who was to be descended from King David.  St. Luke, on the other hand, was concerned with Jesus as the Son of God.

        That said, now read both Gospel accounts and get the whole picture: the birth of Jesus Christ, the God-Man.

From The Weekly Bulletin, Vol. XXXIV No. 50, 23 December 2007
Sts. Peter & Paul Romanian Orthodox Church, Dearborn Heights MI

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