Family Reunions (A Guest Post By Nancy Franson)

During each summer of my childhood, relatives gathered for extended family reunions. On a given Sunday afternoon, in the blazing heat of July, my grandfather’s people assembled in a park in rural western Pennsylvania. The following week, my grandmother’s folks would gather, each bearing a Styrofoam cooler or picnic basket carrying a casserole or dessert.

For many years I had a hard time remembering which relatives belonged on which side of the family, or how any of them were related to one another or to me. For many years I probably didn’t care. All I knew was that for two Sunday afternoons in a row, I would get to load up my plate with all sorts of good food, there would usually be watermelon, and I would have an entire afternoon to play with my cousins.

Sometimes the adults organized games, and a favorite was the sawdust penny hunt. Uncle Raym, who worked in a lumber yard, always brought a load of sawdust which he dumped out onto the ground. He then asked the adults to empty their coins into the pile. On his signal, all the cousins scrambled toward the sawdust, digging deep to find pennies, nickels, dimes, and sometimes quarters. I probably came away each summer with about seventy-five cents in my pockets, but the sound of coins jingling there made me feel rich.

After the meal and organized games, the cousins disappeared to play for all we were worth. The adults, however, stayed behind for their business meeting. Conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order, the meeting addressed the important business of the reunion. The recording secretary read minutes which were discussed, debated, and approved.  Important action items included choosing a date and location for the next year’s reunion and assigning responsibility for the purchase of drinks and paper goods. The secretary recorded births, deaths, and marriages of those within our clan, chronicling the history of our people with detail and care. 

I once stumbled into the midst of one of these meetings looking for something to drink, my cheeks flushed from the important business of chasing my cousins throughout the park. The work of these grown-ups seemed so trivial and boring on a beautiful Sunday afternoon when there was so much fun to be had.

Sometimes there were empty seats around the reunion tables. Folks grew up, moved away, or decided there were more important things to do on a Sunday summer afternoon. Sometimes hurt feelings or whispers of scandal kept people away.

Recently, while sitting in a small group discussing unity within the church, I thought back to those family reunions. In Ephesians 4, the apostle Paul talks about maturing in the unity that is ours in Christ. Frankly, we’re not always wild about the other family members in the body of Christ. Sometimes the family is a chore. Cranky old people and impertinent teens show up at our family gatherings. We get into arguments about whose turn it was to bring the paper goods and feelings get hurt. We are embarrassed by scandal, learning someone has brought shame to the family name. Folks wander in and out of the church, finding better things to do on a Sunday, or deciding the work of the church is simply too boring when there is so much fun to be had. And it often seems as though the family is trying to hide a crazy uncle away in the basement, one who insists on making predictions about the end of the world.

Yet unity within the family of God isn’t something we strive for; it’s something which exists. As members of the body of Christ, we share the same family DNA. Whether we like one other or not, God has brought us together to meet around his table and retell the family stories. We may be the most embarrassing assortment of goofballs, but God has drawn us together as a family and is working on growing us up to maturity. As we figure out how to get along with one another, as we ask for and extend grace, we bear witness that the gospel which drew us together is life-changing and true.

I have been the one to bring shame to the family name. I have been the know-it-all teen who thought I was wiser than my elders. I have been outspoken in my opinions and hurt the feelings of others. At times, I considered the work of the church boring and chose pleasure instead. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that some in the family think I’m the crazy aunt in the basement.

But I’m family. And they’re stuck with me.

We come into the family as infants and make a lot of mistakes. We get a lot of things wrong. But the older teach the younger, and we learn to ask for and extend forgiveness. Together we wear off one another’s rough edges and grow up into the full measure of the unity that is ours in Christ. And as we learn to appreciate the beauty of being united in the body of Christ, we don’t need a pocket full of coins to tell us we are rich.

Nancy Franson is my friend, and that makes me smile. She is absolutely amazing. You can find Nancy and her beautiful words (just like the ones she's shared here) at her blog, Out Of My Alleged Mind. 

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