Teresa posted from Luke 2:1-14 on Christmas Eve. I've always thought these were some of the most beautiful passages in the Bible. You'll recognize the last three paragraphs as the explanation Linus gives for "what Christmas is all about" to Charlie Brown.
So when T and I attended church that night, what did we get for the Gospel reading? The first chapter of Matthew, which is mostly an enumeration of the lineage from Abraham to Jesus and which has all the charm and poetry as an annual report. The only interesting bit is Verse 17:
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.