Family Reunion

Jesus replied: The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage (Luke 20:34).

Our family is planning our next reunion, and I am so excited to see everyone again and to meet the new members, born since our last reunion.  There is always such a spirit of joy and celebration when we come together -- a spirit of union and of welcome to all.  Our conversations are rarely, if ever, about the past, for as a family of six siblings originally, our history and shared memories are limited.  As the oldest, I was leaving home while the others were just beginning to grow and create memories of their own.  What we share and celebrate today are the wonderful and interesting people we have become, and the children we have produced.  The people who have married into the family in each generation are part of the union we celebrate; there is no distinction between "blood" sisters or brother and "spirit" sisters and brothers.  In fact, while there is a dissolving marriage in my generation, all of us have insisted that the "ex" come to the reunion and be a part of the celebration; she is still our beloved sister, whether still married to my brother or not.

Though the first generation was all raised in the Catholic church, only 2 of us still remain Catholic.  The rest range from agnostic to "way out there" (maybe New Age, I don't know) to conservative evangelical.  Now, here's the interesting thing:  we have deep and intense discussions about ideas, but never about "religion."  We disagree sometimes about how things "are," but our discussions always draw us closer together in warmth and love.  There is a deep spirit that unites us, much deeper than the things that divide us. 

A number of years ago, while one of my brothers was still dating, he brought his new girlfriend to the family reunion.  She spent most of the time in her room.  Maybe that was our fault; we wanted to welcome her, but there was just something that didn't "fit" the family.  She had a different "spirit," an incompatible spirit. She knew it; we knew it.  The marriage never took place.  Several years after that, my brother suddenly married another woman.  When I called to congratulate him, he said, "I finally met someone I could bring to a family reunion, and I wanted to close the deal before the next reunion."  His new wife was just perfect; when we met her, she was instantly part of the family.  There was so much joy in all of us to welcome her.  She will always be part of our family, whether the marriage lasts or not (It will; I have no doubt).

So what's the point?  The things of this world (family history, marriage, religion) are not what unites us -- those things are part of this world and serve a definite purpose in this world.  What unites us is an indefinable spirit, a union that cannot be broken or touched by the things of this world -- marriage, religion, history, even language.  Will we all be together in heaven?  The bond we share cannot be broken.  There is no doubt in my mind that our family reunions in heaven will continue as on earth -- along with all those each individual family united to while on earth. 

In the spirit, there is no male or female, Jew or Gentile, black or white, old or young -- all drink from the same Fountain of Life.  The reason that I, as a 70-year-old woman can teach a class of 17-year-old- juniors in high school is not that we even come close to sharing the same "world" of experience/ history/ memories, etc., but that there is spirit that unites us in a deeper and closer bond than anything we experience in the world.  Only the Holy Spirit can bring that spirit-bond to the foreground and make the physical world fade into the background. 

Shakespeare had one of his characters say something to the effect that "there is more on heaven and earth than we can guess at, dear Polonius."  (I may have completely messed up the quote.)  In the passage from Luke, Jesus went on to say that in the next age, those who rise from the dead "can no longer die; for they are like the angels.  They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection."

When Jesus was told that his mother and brothers were waiting to speak with Him, He replied: Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?  Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers.  For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother" (Matt. 12:4-50).  We have a family not born of the same mother and father, but of the Spirit of God.  Once we connect with that family, it's forever!

Jesus spoke of the "sword" that would divide "a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies will be the members of his own household" (Matt10:34).  The "sword" He spoke of is a division of spirit, not of flesh.  In the flesh, we have many divisions and disagreements, but in the Spirit, all of those fade into the background.  Jesus said, "I know mine, and mine know me."  That is the test -- not Catholic, Jew, Muslim, or whatever else the world has concocted to divide us -- but knowing Christ, whether consciously or not.  I look forward to the next "family" reunion, where He gathers together all who drink from His Spirit.