As in the story of Genesis, for each generation of Luke’s genealogy, the functional names outline the literary framework of a recurring biblical dilemma: without God’s perpetual intervention, life from age to age is impossible. 

In science and engineering, numerous terms are used to describe similar mechanisms. In physics and thermodynamics, it is referred to as “external energy input” or “external work.” In biological systems, which require food, water, and other resources, it is called “homeostasis.”  Even artificial intelligence requires external input in order to work correctly—though the analogy is not precise—you get the point. In these examples, external input is necessary to prevent catastrophic failure. 

In the literary reality of the Bible, like a plant without light or water or an iPhone sitting on the shelf in 1905, each generation of human beings degrades and fails rapidly, to the extent that without God’s intervention, there is no possibility of life. In the most obvious of all biblical examples, God intervenes to make a baby when Abraham’s seed fails. As far as the Bible is concerned, nothing helpful is passed down from Adam or Abraham, let alone your grandparents or parents. This also means that you, like your forebears, have nothing valuable of yourself to pass on. Why? Because “your origin and your birth are from the land of the Canaanite; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.” (Ezekiel 16:3) 

So if the heritage that gets us out from under the boot of Herod does not come from your family, and the inheritance in question is not from your line, where is it, what is it, where does it come from, and who is its beneficiary? 

Richard and Fr. Marc discuss Luke 3:30 (Episode 484)