My beloved alma mater, Moody Bible Institute, introduced me to Flannery O’Connor (I remain forever indebted to Dr. Rosalie de Rosset for the introduction), but it didn’t offer college-level courses on William Shakespeare. I had to wait till I transferred to Wayne State University (Detroit, MI) for that.

Though hardly a Shakesperean scholar, I did wow the professor with my grasp of the playwright's English, no matter how archaic it was to the other students. After one class, my professor, who knew I was a transfer student, asked if I had studied the Bard at my other school.

Me: No.

Professor: Then why do you understand so much of his language?

Me: Uh, I read the Bible?

The version of the Bible I read at the time was the Kings James Version with its beautiful archaic language that expanded my vocabulary as it taught me the truths of Scripture, even with its thee-thou-thine language and canst and mayest.

With Advent beginning next Sunday, I canst overlook the begats of Matthew 1.

I used to wonder why Matthew used up seventeen verses with begats, and just didn’t start his gospel with the birth of Jesus. Patrick Schreiner posted on The Gospel Coalition site a few years back five reasons why Matthew begins with a genealogy: it summarizes the story of the Bible; it reminds us that this is a true story; it highlights Jesus’ inclusive family; it shows us God is faithful; and it displays Jesus as our only hope.

I would like to add a sixth reason to Schreiner's list. These seventeen verses are a prelude to the angel's "glad tidings of great joy" (per the KJV version of Luke's gospel). The genealogy clearly aligns Jesus precisely where he should be, but it also reminds everyone of generation after generation of faithful lives that fall short, people who are less than Messianic. In Matthew's prelude, Christmas joy has notes of severe testing, of fear and loneliness, of abuse and pain, and grief and loss . . . foreshadowing crucifixion and sealed tombs.

In his letter to scattered, homeless believers, James pushes all of us forward to glad tidings of great joy when he writes to “count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

He surely also speaks to the people today who are in flight from birth country to another place of refuge or to people in lands of grief and sorrow looking for the strength to keep going. The darkness and silence between the testaments, yearning and groaning, the pain of childbirth in the place where animals find shelter and rest. Our brothers and sisters around the world facing terrible evils, yet Jesus is present in every sorrow, all hardships, Incarnation's understanding and presence, the Spirit bringing hope where humanly there may not be any.

Joy and trials. Steadfastness and suffering, a mind-boggling prelude to the second Advent that will come as sure as the first one did with pure joy, joy, joy.