October
11 would have been my parents’ wedding anniversary. My father died when I was a
child, so I don’t have memories of their anniversaries. But their life together, like their singular
personalities, are part of my identity. A long-standing question: “Is nature or
nurture more important in formation?” No doubt both. One thing is certain,
nurture in faith communities is crucial. However, saying, “Our church is like a
family” can be problematic. I know what people mean: close ties, belonging. But
that image also can signal exclusivity to the stranger, and to those who don’t
resemble the predominate membership
.
The
Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) speaks of tribes, but in the New Testament Gospels
Jesus talks about leaving brothers or sisters or mother or father or children
for the sake of the Good News and of receiving a hundredfold brothers, sisters,
mothers, children. The Epistles (the Letters of the New Testament) are often
addressed to “Brothers and Sisters” of the new churches. There are warnings
against saying “I belong” to this family or that leader, and against divisions
between Jews and Gentiles. Christians
are described as, “all heirs through adoption.”
Jesus Christ experienced suffering
in being estranged from religious leaders, separated from family, deserted by
disciples, and finally forsaken by God on the cross. We have and we will
experience brokenness in families, and being estranged from one another, even
within faith communities. The church is not just a cozy family. The gift of
grace in Jesus Christ is reconciliation.
When
my mother was widowed we moved from Des Moines to Mason City; a congregation invited
us in. There we found not just families: the Swansons, the McMurrays or the
Ortegas, but a broad caring community.
When
Burton and I married we decided—I don’t remember how or when—our home would be
open to whomever God placed within our family.
Within a year, we were invited to adopt a child—while we were yet in
seminary. Through the years our family has included a chosen child and two
biological children. And through the decades, we have received a hundredfold
brothers and sisters in Christ.
Although
we disconnect, forget, and mourn the loss of one another, God creates and
recreates community, far more than a hundredfold. Through God’s warm embrace we
become ever-reaching-out people, way beyond biological families, so that we can
nurture one another. How far? Refugees, immigrants, strangers wait for our
welcome.
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Yesterday The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to India's Kailash Satyarthi, a Hindu, and Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai, a Muslim, a remarkable and prophetic sign of being kin across religious and national boundaries. These two remarkable people inspire us all in their courage, passion and work that all children, including especially girl children deserve an education, and that no child should be a slave, nor property, nor oppressed or in danger. Indeed, how can we be ever-reaching-out people?
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