Title: Family of God (familia Dei)
Contents
Every year in May, the main menu of sermons, which runs at the highest price for each church, is family and home. The month is usually proclaimed by families, and the church is busy with various events on Children's Day and Mother's Day. As the disintegration of the family and the breakdown of the family emerge as a problem in our society, family ministry becomes a necessity rather than an option, and the church becomes a family in various ways. The biblical basis that is mainly mobilized in this regard is the story of the Adam and Eve family, which is the sacred prototype of the family, and the teachings of Ephesians and Colossians that emphasize the lessons of obedience and love as the principle of living in harmony with the members of the family. Leaning on this, preachers often promote a conservative family ethic centered on vertical hierarchies. But when you think about it as if that's all, your understanding of the family narrows. When we stay at this level of understanding, the fundamental questions of what kind of families we so advocate and call are, and what our families should ultimately aim for, are often overlooked. What are the new horizons of the family that Jesus opened up by leaving the family, and the theological challenges are often neglected at the same time.
A phenomenon in which deep consideration is lost for cases where the external boundaries of the family are distorted due to divorce, disability, death, etc. of not a few single people and some family members around us because the desire for a so-called 'healthy family' is so hot. this arises. If a family is a member of a family, isn't the family a place where their communal life resides? But the problem with our society is that the fences of those families are usually determined by patriarchal traditions that emphasize pedigree. A culture of exclusive and selfish familism has been cultivated here. And, combined with the Confucian family culture that emphasizes lineage inheritance and ties, even within Christianity, they are unable to escape the limits of such recognition.
But in the truest sense, what does Christianity say about the family? What else do I have to say? Furthermore, how did the Bible, especially Jesus, understand the family? Let's take a look at today's text. Jesus' mother and brothers sent someone from outside to call Jesus, who had been busy with his ministry for a long time, surrounded by a crowd. So, when the message was delivered, "Your mother and brothers and sisters are looking for you," Jesus' response to this was unexpectedly cold. He said, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" He looked around at those around him and said, "Look at my mother and brothers. Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother."
Looking at the context around this text, the reason why the family came to Jesus is a bit questionable. Because when they heard the rumors that Jesus was crazy, they went out to find him, and by arresting him, perhaps they were trying to prevent the disgrace of the family. At that time, Jesus was engaged in a fierce battle with the scribes over the Beelzebub controversy. The scribes' impure accusations that he was possessed by Beelzebub and cast out demons like a madman, Jesus was arguing that demons could not cast out demons, arguing that he could not cast out demons. If so, was Jesus' remarks that seemed to be abusive to his family, perhaps an emotional reaction to their thinking that Jesus was possessed by a demon and were in the midst of their adversaries? Indeed, within the Gospels, there are some grounds for discord between Jesus and his family. However, rather than a simple emotional response, it is more reasonable to view the above statement as a precious message that opened a new horizon for the family of God by deconstructing and creatively reconstructing the established concept of the family.
If we were to exercise our sense of balance in our current situation, what would be the challenges and lessons Jesus presented from the family of God in light of the reality of our family? First, we should ask and reflect. Is the spirit of Jesus' renunciation alive and breathing in my own life? Is our family fully incorporated into God's family? On the contrary, I am living as a slave to the autistic small-familyism that only my family is the best and everything. Is our home an open community as a warm nest where its members communicate and communicate with each other? Or, is it a closed fortress as a cramped tomb that suppresses and suppresses its evils through hierarchies? Is the fence of our home wide enough to embrace the marginalized neighbors around me? Or is it a bunny farm of narrow desires busy taking care of only my family members? Is Jesus living in our house just a symbol of convenient patriarchy? Otherwise, is it a sign of equality and liberation that breaks the bitterness of oppressive patriarchalism? Simply put, our house invites a few people outside the fence a year to give us a room, and how hospitable it is.
Dear members of Saegil Church, In spite of these and other practical limitations, as long as we live as members of the institutional family of this age, the courageous spirit of celibacy of Jesus and the ideology of God's family should be the motives for vital reflection and determination in our lives. The exclusive pedigreeism and closed familism that have been lurking around us are still strong and present. Derived from this, we must keep in mind the fact that Jesus threw the sword and the fire right there in a world where various kinshipisms are eroding our society. In the fortress of various kinshipism formed by the conception of a lineage-oriented family, if various ties, bonds, and organizations become a cartel of power that makes the strong stronger and the weak and marginalized more lonely and sad, how can there be God's power? Could the spiritual soil be prepared for the family to thrive?
Lastly, I recommend. Now let's open the door to our home and welcome our guests. Once a month or at least several times a year, let's invite our friends and neighbors, especially the little ones, to our house and give them a bedroom, and let them sleep in the comfy bed you sleep in too. Let's take time out of our busy lives to cook and share food together, calling each other mother, father, older brother, older sister, older sister, and younger brother. Let's embrace each other warmly in that wide family. With tears in my heart, I call you as my parents, my sister, my brother, and my little brother. Wouldn't our six parents and brothers who gave birth to us also look forward to it and smile happily at least once someday? *