Three sisters grew apart over the years. Practical and serious matters contributed. First, the sisters all moved away from each other to different countries and even different continents taking on the languages and cultures of their new homes making it difficult to converse and find commonalities. While establishing their families they could not connect frequently because they lived in a time before cell phones and social media existed.
One of the major divisive issues happened during their adulthood years when the oldest decided she would be in charge of the other two regarding family matters. The other two wanted all three of them to continue discussing issues together as equals. As that tension simmered, each sister started to believe that the rest of the family should believe exactly as they were about life and even about their religious beliefs without room for a person’s growing into certain beliefs. Disagreements on these decisions resulted in their relationship growing even more distant. One day, the sisters mutually severed ties with each other because they could not agree on everything. Later, the youngest sister tried to reunite the sisterly bond they shared when they were younger and so she protested persistently but the older sisters would not budge, inviting her instead to take a side.
As the years went on, extended family members who were pained by their family division tried to help unify the family. Not every family member was on board because complete agreement on what divided them would not be accepted by everyone.
Those who wanted reunion worked carefully and slowly because so much hurt had happened over the years. Prayerfully, many meetings varied in degrees of agreements and disagreements.
One day, a young family member had the thought that their family is already and has been one even with all the disagreements. Realizing how naïve their idea might sound to everyone after so many years of division, for encouragement they turned to St. Paul’s ministry to the Corinthian Christian community in that first letter found in the New Testament. There Paul considered the Corinthians to be one community even though among them were factions, divisions and dissensions. The Corinthians believed different things at different times about life and faith matters and the apostle Paul still invited them to continue receiving the Eucharist together.
The young person invited their family to consider the similarity of the situations. Instead of trying to agree themselves into oneness they could acknowledge that Jesus Christ already joined into one new creation the children of Israel with everyone else centuries ago- which meant their family was already one even though they disagreed on important issues.
The patriarchs and matriarchs of the family carefully considered and quickly chose St. Paul’s approach to help heal their family divisions so that in their own lifetime reunion would be realized. They knew not everyone would agree with the sudden change and began working creatively to communicate the news. They also encouraged each family to continue their own beloved cultures, customs, beliefs and traditions that had developed over the years.
The main change would be that they now understood themselves as one because of Jesus Christ’s ministry. They were even more hopeful that everyone would grow closer together during their discussions finally feeling faithfully firmer on the rock foundation.
This is a parable about the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant Christian families and is my prayer for a way for us to know ourselves as one.
Cornerstone Unites 