Ask someone to define the word “family” and you will get a variety of answers. Some will say that “family” refers to people who are related to us by blood— biological family. Others will include people who are related to us by marriage such as in-laws or step brothers or step-sisters or half brothers or half sisters. Even ex’s are sometimes considered family.
In the movie, the Godfather, you became “family” if you swore allegiance to Michael Corleone or were under his patronage. And God forbid if you hurt or betrayed the “family” in any way.
It’s obvious that we are seeing today is that the “family” is no longer limited to those who are related to us by blood.
Jesus himself extended the definition of “family”. On one occasion, when told that his mother and brothers and sisters were waiting outside to see him, he responded by sayiny, “Who are my mother, brother, and sister? Those who hear the word of God and keep it. These are mother, brother and sister to me.” Was Jesus saying that blood relationships are no longer important? No. Rather, Jesus was widening the definition of family to include those who are united to us by faith. Today we may speak of members of our “faith family”-- those who share similar religious beliefs with us. And, in some cases, we may be closer to members of our faith family than our own biological families!
The concept of an extended faith family did not necessarily begin with Jesus but goes way back to the time of the Exodus— some 1200 years earlier. When Moses led the people out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, he discovered that the Hebrews were basically a people with competing family ties and tribal loyalties. We still find those kind of family ties in Afghanistan, Iraq and other parts of the Arab world. We have seen how problematic they can be when trying to bring people together as a nation. So, through various religious rituals, Moses tried to unite the people as one family under God’s care. In what may seem to be a bizarre ritual, Moses took the blood of a sacrificed animal and sprinkled it on the people. In doing this, Moses was emphasizing that through the blood of a sacrifice, the people were tied to God and therefore to each other. Each of them were part of a people who had entered into a blood covenant with God. And this blood covenant superceded any particular family or tribal ties that they might have had. As a result, each person was responsible for the other regardless of family ties.
When we fast forward to the scene of the Last Supper, Jesus utilizes the same imagery with his own disciples. Recalling the Passover sacrifice whereby the people expressed their family ties through the sacrifice of a lamb, Jesus takes bread and wine and gives those elements a new meaning. He tells them that the bread is his body which will be broken for them. He takes a cup of wine and says, “this is the blood of the new covenant which will be poured out for you.” In doing this, Jesus re-defines family. He is saying that our love for each other and our loyalties to each other are not limited by biological relationships but by the covenant of his own blood. As a result, all who partake of the bread and wine are drawn into a blood family with Christ. Each of us has entered into this blood covenant with Christ. So, every time we gather, as we are today, to receive the Eucharist, we are expressing our unique family ties. We are a faith family united by the body and blood of Jesus. And we are renewing our commitment to each other in love.
What does that mean for us? If we are family by sharing the one bread and one cup, what are the implications for us?
First, it means that we have a common “father” who is God. We are drawn into God’s family by sharing the life of Christ. It is as if we all have a common spiritual DNA that identifies us. We have the blood of Christ flowing through our veins. We are adopted sons and daughters of God by our relationship with Christ whose blood has been poured out for us. And, as children of God, we are destined to inherit all that God has prepared for us. The Kingdom belongs to us by our unity with the faith family. We should live in gratitude to God for this inheritance.
Secondly, by sharing the body and blood of Christ, we are bound to each other. The Eucharistic meal unites us as brothers and sisters in Christ. We are responsible to one another. We are to express our love and care for each other. We are treat each other as we would treat our own biological family members. We share with each other, forgive each other, provide for each other and work together for the building up of God’s Kingdom. At certain times, members of our faith family are willing to die for each other; so powerful is our unity with each other by faith.
This does not mean that, as members of Christ’s family, we will not be confronted by challenges and even divisions. At times, a faith family will be family. We will experience disagreements and struggles within this family. Yet, like our biological families, we are still tied to each other by a bond that cannot be broken. The blood covenant of Jesus is the tie that binds forever.
So, as we celebrate this feast of the Body and Blood of Christ and as we observe Father’s Day, we might pause to reflect on the gift of family. In God’s wisdom, we have come into the world as members of a particular family. We have also been brought into a family that will endure through this life and into the next. The family gathered here in this place; the family that will come to the table; the brothers and sisters who are seated next to us; is what we celebrate this day.