Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.
It's easy to love the pumpkin pie,
but what about the sauerkraut?
She was to be the newest member of the family.
She met my nephew while he was on the west coast.
After a year, they were engaged,
and the family was going to meet her at Thanksgiving a couple of years ago.
I had seen photos....
very attractive.
From brief conversations on the phone....
very personable.
Her accomplishments in post grad school,
obviously very intelligent.
My nephew had chosen well,
except for one tiny thing.
She had graduated from THAT school,
you now which school I mean....
the school from the other side of the city,
our arch rivals.
I immediately had a choice.....
either play nice at the Thanksgiving table
or engage in an all out food fight for the honor of my alma matre.
I chose the higher road,
very unusual for me, especially when the subject was football.
Now I was on precarious ground.
My school's football team had recently been sanctioned with penalties.
It was all over the news.
She she had motive, had ammunition, and now she had opportunity.
When we gathered, everyone was delighted with her.
Our nephew was beaming.
I think it was at the passing of the gravy that the first shot was fired.
"So, didn't you go to the school where the football players cheat?"
Bullet #1 lodged somewhere between my eyes.
"Uh yeah, there was one small issue," I muttered quickly.
Diverting attention I asked for the green bean casserole.
If you are going to divert, green bean casserole isn't a bad way to go.
Things quieted down......
that is until the dinners rolls came by.
"Doesn't that affect the integrity of the entire school?
She had just fired shot #2
just as the roll was headed for my mouth.
"Uh, not really" I stammered
as I asked for more jam.
Things seemed to calm down
as we entered the second servings of our gluttony.
Conversations shifted to less volatile subjects like
capital punishment, abortion, and politics.
I should have known she would fire the fatal shot at the passing of the cranberry sauce.....
after all, it's our school colors.
"So, how does that make you feel about your education?"
So much for playing nice.
With one swallow of my mashed potatoes,
I stood up, ripped off my shirt
to reveal my school t-shirt.
"We've beaten you nine out of the last ten years!" I retorted.
Silence enveloped the table like a fog rolling in off a New England shoreline.
All eyes were on us.
School pride, family honor, and likely, the fate of our country
were on the line in that pivotal moment.
With that,
she took another bite of turkey, looked at me and winked.
I sat down. took a drink of water,
and winked back.
Welcome to the family.
Families certainly don't agree on everthing.....
Conservative or Liberal,
Catholic, Protestant, or Non-Denominatinal
This team or That team......
Likemindedness is not a family pre-requisite.
It isn't true of biological families,
and it isn't true of faith falilies.
The early history of the church
included incident after incident of doctrinal disagreements........
Should a Christian eat meat that was sacrificed to idols?
Does a Christian need to be circumcised or keep the religious ceremonies of the Torah?
What was the role of women to be in the life of the church?
to name a few
Likemindedness had never been a family pre-requisite.
But love is.
Where love flourishes,
families flourish.
Rick Warren, in his book "The Purpose Driven Life"
details nine characteristics of loving faith families.
Authenticity I John 1:7-8
Mutuality I Cor 12:25
Sympathy Gal. 6:2
Mercy Col 3:13
Honesty Eph 4:15
Humility 1 Peter 5:5
Courtesy Romans 12:10
Confidentiality Proverbs 6
Frequency of Gathering Heb 10:25
Families that love each other work at developing these qualities.
Whether it is something as trivial as rooting for different sports teams
or something far more serious
such as disagreements on societal issues,
one thing is clear:
We are to love one another,
and that takes courage, patience, and determination.
Paul made it clear in I Cor 13,
without love we are nothing but a noisy gong.
Peter expressed it in 1 Peter 4,
love covers a multitude of sins.
And Jesus showed love to the extreme throughout the gospels,
love your enemies, as well as those with whom you agree.
Families, whether biological, faith related, or otherwise,
will always be measured by one thing,
how they love one another.
As we move from Thanksgiving towards Christmas,
may I suggest that deepening our ability to love one another
be the first and foremost gift on our list.
Who knows what will happen?
You might just get to the pumpkin pie without any shots fired.
Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you.
Ephesians 5:2
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