Aug_2_09 Gerber

Advances in both genealogical research and DNA tracking have revealed many things, including the news that all of us are more closely related to one another than we used to think.

That could be a good thing or a bad thing.

We often don't have to go back too many generations to find common ancestors not only with people on the other side of town but also with people on the other side of the world.

In 2007, Harvard professor Steven Pinker wrote about the genealogy craze for The New Republic: "We are all related -- not just in the obvious sense that we are all descended from the same population of the first humans, but also because everyone's ancestors mated with everyone else's at many points since that dawn of humanity," he said. "There aren't enough ancestors to go around for everyone to have a family tree of his or her own." We are all related!

But at the same time, studies in genetic inheritance reveal how quickly our percentage of biological attachment to individual members of our larger family diminishes. At the risk of your eyes glazing over, track with us here and read slowly: Each of us has half our genes in common with our siblings, but we have only one-eighth of our genes in common with our first cousins, only 1/16th with our first cousins once removed and only 1/32nd with our second cousins. Translated to percentages, that means we have just more than three percent of our genes in common with our second cousins. And the percentages get exponentially smaller the further and further we go through the numbers and the removes.

One man who did some genealogical research on his family tree discovered that one of his ancestors was Robert Bruce, king of Scotland in the early 1300s. The man calculated that that made him something like a 49th cousin to the current Queen Elizabeth -- a long way from the throne.

Jane recently discovered that she is a descendant of one of the passengers on the Mayflower many cousins removed?

The fact is, genetic connections fall away pretty quickly as we look farther sideways on our family tree. In fact, those connections decay geometrically.

What's more, in today's mobile society, members of the same generation of a family can become so spread out geographically that there's no meaningful everyday contact between them.

So while genes are important, they are no guarantee that people sharing genes will be sharing much of anything else. Still, while you might not have much feeling for a cousin who lives on the other side of the country, if she's your cousin, she's your cousin. She's family, and it's that perception more than the blood connection that will provide a sense of kinship.

And that's the point of our lesson for today: To speak of the church as the family of God is a powerful metaphor. The family of God is populated by people who share the same spiritual DNA, but let's face it, the church is composed of people who -- spiritual DNA aside -- do not share the same genes but share the same grace!

We are family
The strongest ties of kinship are normally between those who have grown up in the same household and were cared for by the same parents. In that regard, Pinker notes that other groups and coalitions that wish to be cohesive don't have the advantage of having had all their members grow up together. But they can co-opt family feelings by "tricking the brain into perceiving the coalition as kin."

It's unfortunate that Pinker used the word "tricking" because that implies something devious, even if that wasn't his intention. Actually, what he's talking about are the things that coalitions do to foster feelings of kinship:

-eating together, having communal meals;

-using kinship metaphors, such as referring to members of the coalition as brethren or brothers and sisters;

-telling people that they're all descended from the same patriarch or primeval couple, that they're connected to a specific land, that they hold in common a specific story or that they all came into being by the same creative act.

If we keep those methodologies Pinker named in mind as we read the epistle text for today, we see that the apostle Paul is doing something like that in describing what the church is intended to be: "I ... beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called ... making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all."

On other occasions, when writing to the Galatians, Paul even used the word "family" ("household" in the Greek) to refer to the church: "So then, whenever we have the opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith" (Galatians 6:10).

Elsewhere, Paul refers to the other things that make for kinship through the church: the church's common meal -- communion (1 Corinthians 11:23-34); Abraham as the spiritual ancestor of all Christians (Romans 4:11); the fact that all who are "in Christ" are "a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). What's more, Paul frequently uses family terminology, calling his readers "brethren" or "brothers and sisters" (e.g.: 2 Corinthians 13:11; Galatians 1:11; Philippians 3:1). And, of course, all Christians hold the story of Jesus in common.

There's no question that Paul believed there should be a kinship among Jesus' followers that goes beyond blood relationship. Jesus said, "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother" (Matthew 12:50). But certainly Paul would object to the common practices and teachings of Christianity being described as ways of tricking the brain into perceiving the coalition -- in this case, the church -- as kin. Paul knew that God's desire all along was that everyone would become part of his family. That's why, in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul says, "[God] destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will" (Ephesians 1:5).

So we may not have the genes -- in any ontological sense; but we got the grace. Paul says "destined us." God made each of us to be part of his family -- not because we have the same genes, or bloodline, but because we have the same grace or blessing.

What it means to be family
All of the scientific and theological talk becomes relevant for us when we think about what it means to be a family. If you think about the people comprising your extended family, you can no doubt think of some members with whom you don't agree some of the time -- or maybe most of the time. You may differ on politics, religion, behavior, values, or just about anything else.

Like this kid who goes to his first day of school. The first-grader hands his teacher a note from his mother. The note reads, "The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents."

Yet healthy families, even though the opinions expressed by one member may not be those of another family member, understand that any one member will come to the aid of another when needed. Families that are functional often will not have uniformity but will have an underlying unity. Families that are functional will have differences but not division. In families that are functional, members can count on each other not for agreement but to be there when someone needs help or support.

Amitai Etzioni, a sociology professor at George Washington University, reminds us of that. Writing in Christian Century, he tells of his 38-year-old son, Michael, dying suddenly, leaving behind a pregnant wife and an infant. Because Etzioni had lost his wife suddenly some time earlier, he knew how important supportive family and friends are. So at his son's funeral, he pleaded with family members and friends to make every effort to stay with Michael's widow, Lainie, and his children for years to come.

Etzioni was writing two years after his son's death, and he says, "Two years later, the family is still there. So are some of the friends, some of the time." Do you hear the difference?

He goes on to say, "My personal experience supports something I have long suspected in my work as a sociologist: Under most circumstances, friendship bonds cannot replace family bonds."

Continuing, Etzioni details the significant things his family did to support and help Michael's wife and children. As one example, Michael's younger brother finished his training as a surgeon but then limited his job search to the city where Lainie and the children live -- Los Angeles, a city that already has plenty of surgeons. He and his wife spend time with Lainie and her children at least twice a week. Other family members make similar commitments of themselves.

Etzioni says the friends didn't vanish, and many did some helpful things, especially in the early days after the funeral and through Lainie's subsequent delivery of the child she was carrying. But he says that now, two years later, most friends have moved on. The family, however, is still there. His conclusion is, "Between family and friends, family is the stronger source of solace."

In calling the church the family of faith, Paul set a goal for followers of Jesus, as they function in congregations, to be the people who are there for one another. And Christ makes that possible.

We cannot expect uniformity in the church any more than we can expect uniformity among family members. But we should aim at being the people in unity who are still there when one of us is in pain or need. As Pinker reminds us, kinship is a critical component of this life of ours, but it's something larger than a genetic connection. We have the genes; we have the grace.

Sources:
Etzioni, Amitai. "Sources of solace." Christian Century, January 13, 2009, 13.
Pinker, Steven. "Strangled by roots." The New Republic, post date, July 30, 2007; issue date August 6, 2007. Archived at