Family Reunions
Text: Luke 12:13
"Someone in the crowd said to Him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me."
Everybody needs somebody who's willing to deflate their egos from time to timeeven movie stars like Denzel Washington. While promoting 2007's The Great Debaters, Washington was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey. Midway through their conversation, Washington noted the encouragement his mother had given him throughout his life. He also shared this story of his mother's reproof over his budding pride: I walked in the house one day and feeling full of myself, a movie star. I said to my mother, "Did you ever think this was all going to happen?" She was like, "Please. First of all, go wash the windows for me. You have no idea how many people have been praying for you when you were being a knucklehead." Jeanne Wolf, "Oprah Winfrey and Denzel Washington: 'Little Things Matter,'" Parade magazine (12-16-07), p. 5
Do you remember the last family reunion you attended? I like reunions. I enjoy meeting people I'm related to that I've never seen before, and it seems that each year, one such person shows up. I enjoy seeing the ones I've known all my life. I don't get to see most of them enough any more. I enjoy the fact that we've got a few oddballs, some that are just a bit weird and eccentric, and some that don't seem to fit with the rest. But, enough about me! I get in the middle of that bunch of people and think, "These are MY people!."
I think about my grandparents, long dead now, and greatly missed by us all. I think about aunts and uncles. Just a few years ago, these people were in the prime of life, strong physically, sharp mentally, and courageous spiritually. I think theyre still courageous spiritually, but the physical and mental part does'nt apply any more. I sometimes wonder who all the youngsters belong to. I don't have a clue. You can't even count on the person holding a baby since my family enjoys passing little ones around. And we always eat together. Sometimes, it's the food that brings memories.
I wonder, do we appreciate family enough? Squabbles often fracture families. Jealousies turn brothers into enemies. Vanities separate sisters. People spend too much time trying to be anything but a family that we waste a lot of precious time.
Your church family is also a family to which you belong. We have a weekly reunion of that blood-related family every week. We miss those who have died. We are keenly aware of those who are aging. We still cant quite place all those youngsters! We take note of those who are missing and just didnt show up.
Family is so important. At my family reunion, we even have a few folks attend who are'nt related. Theyre just friends. They're always welcome. It's the same in our church family reunions. A family is people. My people. Related by blood... HIS blood.
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