Feeling right at home in the Father’s house

Two aspects of the biblical idea of family inform this Sunday’s readings. First, the biblical “family” was a set of concentric communities. The most basic was the nuclear family, which included one’s own parents, siblings, spouse (or for some men, spouses) and children. The nuclear family itself was a component of an extended family, often called a “house.” Patriarchal houses were the primary “social actors” of the ancient world. Decisions about marriage, inheritance, the distribution of wealth, military service and the settlement of legal disputes were made within the “house.” Extended families were members of even larger clans that themselves made up the 12 Israelite tribes. The Book of Genesis shows how Israel itself is part of a worldwide kinship system that included, ultimately, every descendant of Adam and Eve. At some level, everyone on earth was family.

But family boundaries could be quite porous. Blood relationships were important, but the second sense of being a family came from acts of love and loyalty. Blood brothers like Jacob and Esau could split permanently over acts of betrayal, while unrelated persons like Ruth and Naomi (Ru 1:16-18) or David and Jonathan (1 Sm 18:1-4; 20:14-17) could establish covenant relationships with each other that were even stronger than their ties to blood kin.

John speaks to this reality in today’s second reading. Membership in the divine extended family was available to any with loyalty to Christ. It is easy to take John’s theology for granted, but at its origin, it was a staggering claim. Throughout the ancient Near East, adoptions into a divine household were the privilege of kings or priests. The Father of Jesus Christ, however, protected and provided for any who believed in Christ and followed the Gospel. The sense of loyalty that made a family came from shared love for God and for one another.

Finding one’s place in God’s household is the reality to which this Sunday’s first reading and Gospel speak. Samuel’s parents were not members of Israel’s priestly tribe, but because of Hannah’s loyalty, Samuel was welcome in God’s house. It took some time, however, for Samuel to find his place as the leader of Israel.

Jesus, likewise, needed time to find his place in God’s house. He was God’s son and felt at home in the temple, but he spent his time there listening and asking questions. It is likely that the astonishment that his teachers showed came less from his display of supernatural knowledge and more from his perspicacious questions. He had not yet discovered his role. Luke reminds his readers that Jesus still needed time to “advance in wisdom” before he found the place God intended for him.

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At some point, every Christian needs to follow a similar path. We are welcome in God’s house, but at some point we need to discern the specific role we will play in the divine family. Only through extended listening and questioning will we grow in the wisdom necessary to follow Christ. This process may well mystify the people who know us best, but when we find the place God has made for us, we will feel right at home.