April 30th

We Are Family

1 John 3:1-7
Acts 3:12-19



Sometime ago Richard and I were invited to a party at the home of some friends of ours’. As part of the entertainment, we all watched a video of a benefit show that was done to raise money for The Passage, the AIDS hospice that was operating in Corpus Christi at that time.

The illusions were both spectacular and funny. We saw Judy Garland and the Sweet Transvestite, Franknfuter from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. We saw The Village People! Of course, women portrayed the Village People—go figure, right?

But later in the show, a group of “sisters” performed “We are Family”—the disco anthem for marginalized people of all types. Remember some of the words? “We are fa-mi-ly! I’ve got all my sisters with me!” After looking very closely at some of those “sisters,” though, I was tempted to request a DNA test. For you see, as much as I love my biological sister, she has never looked as glamorous as some of the “sisters” performing at this particular benefit.

But , whether we were disco queens—and I know some of us were—or political activists, this song spoke to many people as an anthem of unity. For some people the song reaffirmed that regardless of what others thought of them—regardless of what even their biological families thought of them—that they were part of a
larger fellowship.

What we don’t realize, however, is that we truly are a lot closer than we think.

For example, did you know that the research of Yale statistician Joseph Chang, reveals that the most recent common ancestor of every European today was someone who lived in Europe long ago, and through that person every European has a connection with Charles the Great!

That’s wonderful news for Europeans, but what about Americans? It seems we are royalty, too—whether we are of predominantly African, Native American, or Caucasian ancestry. Chang makes this claim based on the long history of intermarriage in the New World. So, through this complex web of relationships, we can all somehow be traced back to Charles the Great.

But the story gets even more detailed than that. The hypothesis now is that the most common ancestor of all six billion people on earth today probably lived just a couple of thousand years ago. This means through this single person we can trace our family ties back to Confucius, Nefertiti and just about any other historical figure who ever lived.

So, not only are we family—apparently we are REALLY close, too.

And since we are all family, it shouldn’t surprise us too much when an argument breaks out in the ranks. That is the context for our reading in First John today. The community to which this letter was written has experienced division and disagreement. There was a group of people who doubted the humanity of Jesus Christ, and they did not tolerate anyone who held different views. The disagreement reached the point to where this group apparently left the community of believers.

Family splits are tough on everyone—whether the family is a biological family, a family of choice, or a church family. There is always a certain amount of hurt and confusion. It is in the midst of this conflict and unstable circumstances that the writer of 1 John seeks to unite this particular community around the central belief in Jesus Christ, fully human and fully divine, as well as Christ’s instruction for to love one another. It is in today’s passage of scripture that he gives us some of the shared characteristics of the family of God. Call it our “spiritual DNA,” if you will.

Let’s start with the good news: We all have the same Parent! The first verse of our reading today says we are children of God. Not only that, the second verse says we are God’s children NOW.

Remember that old saying, “You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your relatives” (although maybe some of us wish we could)? Well, that is certainly the case here. In fact, we did not choose God, but God chose us! Ephesians 1:5 tells us that God “destined us for adoption as God’s children through Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of God’s will…” So to begin with, we have got some spectacular DNA! Amen?

But good DNA isn’t quite enough. In other words, we can’t rely just on good family genes to get us through life. I think most of us here have either read about or seen examples of people who have tried to make a living off of “the family name.” Chances are they have many of the same genetic markers for success that other members of their family share. However, because they choose not to develop these talents, many times their lives result in terrible sadness and emptiness.

The same concept applies to our spiritual lives as well. Becoming a member of the family of God is just the first step. You see, one DNA marker of children of God is that we are growing, developing, and maturing. Verse two in our 1 John reading today says, “what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when Christ is revealed, we will be like Him, for we will see Christ as He is.” Scripture tells us that God has gifted each of us through the power of the Holy Spirit with different abilities for the purpose of building up the Body of Christ known as the church. In other words, we’ve got the spiritual genetic markers from our Parent, God. But, it is up to US to grow, develop, and mature into the people God has called us to be as members of the family. So, how do we do that?

Growing in the image of Christ means finding new ways to share the good news of God’s love, serving God by serving others, growing in our knowledge of God’s Word through study, growing in relationship with one another through fellowship, and magnifying and praising God our Creator through sincere worship.

Growth also involves change, and change means trying new things sometimes. As part of the church of the living God we may try new things from time to time; but the church of Jesus Christ itself is not an experiment. We are here to stay. That’s our destiny. That’s our DNA. And we must evolve, grow, develop, and mature to fulfill that destiny.

A final characteristic of a child of God mentioned in today’s reading is a commitment to purity and righteousness. This is where our scripture reading for today gets pretty strange, too. Verses four through seven address sin and righteousness in some very direct terms. The author of 1st John challenges us to purify ourselves because God is pure. He also tells in that those who abide in God do not sin. Finally he tells us that everyone who does right is righteous, just as God is righteous.

Sinless and righteous like God? Yeah, right!

Confusing, isn’t it? Earlier in this book, the author states that the Christian is not without sin. Scripture also tells us that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” So, what is going on here?

Maybe a different translation will help us sort this issue out. The New International Version of the Bible translates this verse “no one who lives in God keeps on sinning. So, using this translation, this verse may make more sense to us. After all, the Bible tells us that “anyone who is in Christ is a new creature; the old things are passed away; behold new things have come.” If we have truly confessed Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, it will show in the outward expressions of our lives.

While some of the language surrounding the issue of sin may be somewhat confusing, what IS clear is this: we are called to strive AWAY from sin and towards righteousness because God our Parent is sinless and righteous. What this means for us is living lives that reflect God’s love.

Living lives that reflect God’s love means learning to live with, love, and doing our best to work with other members of this family we call “human”---Christian and non-Christian, all races, all genders, all sexual orientations, all people period. For those of us who call ourselves “Christian”, living lives that reflect God’s love means living lives centered in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Does this call to righteousness and purity require perfection from us? No, we will never be perfect in this life. Remember this: the Christian life is a journey, not a destination. Hear again the words of 1st John 3:2: “What we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: When Christ is revealed, we will be like Christ, for we will see Christ as He is…” You see, if we are truly growing, maturing, and developing as children of God, the final destination for us is eternal life with God. And it doesn’t get much better than that, now does it?

So, hear the good news today: We ARE family! We ARE children of the Most High God! My prayer for each of us here today is that we allow the Holy Spirit to move in us in such a mighty way that the world can look at us and see the “family resemblance.”

God bless you and amen.