No Taste for the Corruptible

No Taste for the Corruptible

I often used to wonder how the genealogy of Jesus really made any difference because it traces his lineage through Joseph who, as we know, had nothing to do with the conception of Jesus. Mary was a virgin. She was impregnated by the Holy Spirit not by Joseph. Someone once explained to me that actually, Mary and Joseph were cousins, so the lineage still works. I suppose that’s so, but recently I realized that there’s no reason Jesus couldn’t literally, DNA-wise, be the direct descendent of David through both the male and female sides. The DNA given to him through the holy spirit could have been that of David’s. Thus, it’s not a stretch to say that Jesus is the “seed of David.”

St. Ignatius of Antioch said, “I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was the seed of David; and for drink I desire his blood, which is love incorruptible” (Epistle to the Romans, 7:3). That seed of David, which was placed in the womb of Mary by the Holy spirit, grew into the flesh and blood Jesus, which is re-presented to us every day at mass. Why is it important that Jesus is in this lineage? Still not sure. But I desire that same drink which St. Ignatius did, love incorruptible.