The Christian Family
Stories
Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit
Series VI, Cycle A
Object:
George Burns once quipped, "Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family ... in another city." We know what he means.
The family has changed a great deal. The old Ozzie & Harriet model of Dad going off to work, Mom staying home and waiting for the children to return from school is now just a black-and-white piece of nostalgia -- only a tiny percentage of America's families fit that picture; most do not. An elderly doctor listened to a woman complain about the disappearance of the old-fashioned family doctor. Finally, he lost patience and replied, "Madam, if you will show me an old-fashioned family, I will produce a doctor for it."
The American family these days could surely use a doctor, or someone to provide some healing. Years ago, the great English preacher of the past generation, Leslie Weatherhead, delivered a message called "What is God's Plan for the Family," in which he lamented a report from the Marriage Guidance Council in June 1945, reporting that 10% of marriages were finishing in the divorce court and that the figure would be 20% if separations were included. Talk about the "good old days." How about almost one-half of the marriages ending in divorce these days? Some 25% of Anglo children, 35% of Latino children, and 60% of African-American children are being raised by single parents. The modern family does need help.
People do not even agree on what constitutes a family anymore. Some time ago, a national insurance company requested that 1,200 randomly selected adults define the word "family." Surprisingly, only a small number, 22%, opted for the traditional definition: "a group of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption." A much larger percentage, nearly 75%, chose a much broader definition: "a group of people who love and care for each other."
To be sure, our "Christian Family" has nothing to do with blood or marriage. The "Christian Family" is one in which the members are related to Christ; the Christian Family is the church.
Ephesians makes that clear. In the early days of the faith, there was a serious problem concerning the understanding of who "qualified" to be a part of God's family. The issue then was both blood and marriage -- racism -- Jew versus Gentile. As bad as racial division has been and remains in modern society, it was even worse back then. The epistle writer realized the disastrous consequences of such an attitude, so he wrote to clear up any misunderstanding.
The estrangement Gentiles had previously experienced was noted. After all, a good Jew believed that the Gentiles were created by God to be fuel for the fires of hell; that God loved only Israel of all the nations that had been made. It was not lawful for a Jew to render help to a Gentile woman in childbirth for that would be to help bring another Gentile into the world; if a Jew married a Gentile, the funeral of that Jew was carried out. Even to go into a Gentile house rendered a Jew unclean.
The writer also knew the absolute segregation between Jew and Gentile in worship; he knew "the dividing wall," as he called it, the barrier in the temple court, beyond which no Gentile was permitted upon pain of death. In fact, Paul himself was finally imprisoned and killed after being wrongly accused of bringing the Gentile Trophimus beyond the barrier (Acts 21:28-29). But this good Jew was able to see beyond his tradition and write to the Gentile Christians in Ephesus, "through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus." Family!
The family has changed a great deal. The old Ozzie & Harriet model of Dad going off to work, Mom staying home and waiting for the children to return from school is now just a black-and-white piece of nostalgia -- only a tiny percentage of America's families fit that picture; most do not. An elderly doctor listened to a woman complain about the disappearance of the old-fashioned family doctor. Finally, he lost patience and replied, "Madam, if you will show me an old-fashioned family, I will produce a doctor for it."
The American family these days could surely use a doctor, or someone to provide some healing. Years ago, the great English preacher of the past generation, Leslie Weatherhead, delivered a message called "What is God's Plan for the Family," in which he lamented a report from the Marriage Guidance Council in June 1945, reporting that 10% of marriages were finishing in the divorce court and that the figure would be 20% if separations were included. Talk about the "good old days." How about almost one-half of the marriages ending in divorce these days? Some 25% of Anglo children, 35% of Latino children, and 60% of African-American children are being raised by single parents. The modern family does need help.
People do not even agree on what constitutes a family anymore. Some time ago, a national insurance company requested that 1,200 randomly selected adults define the word "family." Surprisingly, only a small number, 22%, opted for the traditional definition: "a group of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption." A much larger percentage, nearly 75%, chose a much broader definition: "a group of people who love and care for each other."
To be sure, our "Christian Family" has nothing to do with blood or marriage. The "Christian Family" is one in which the members are related to Christ; the Christian Family is the church.
Ephesians makes that clear. In the early days of the faith, there was a serious problem concerning the understanding of who "qualified" to be a part of God's family. The issue then was both blood and marriage -- racism -- Jew versus Gentile. As bad as racial division has been and remains in modern society, it was even worse back then. The epistle writer realized the disastrous consequences of such an attitude, so he wrote to clear up any misunderstanding.
The estrangement Gentiles had previously experienced was noted. After all, a good Jew believed that the Gentiles were created by God to be fuel for the fires of hell; that God loved only Israel of all the nations that had been made. It was not lawful for a Jew to render help to a Gentile woman in childbirth for that would be to help bring another Gentile into the world; if a Jew married a Gentile, the funeral of that Jew was carried out. Even to go into a Gentile house rendered a Jew unclean.
The writer also knew the absolute segregation between Jew and Gentile in worship; he knew "the dividing wall," as he called it, the barrier in the temple court, beyond which no Gentile was permitted upon pain of death. In fact, Paul himself was finally imprisoned and killed after being wrongly accused of bringing the Gentile Trophimus beyond the barrier (Acts 21:28-29). But this good Jew was able to see beyond his tradition and write to the Gentile Christians in Ephesus, "through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus." Family!
