The lure to belonging to something is strong in our humanity, isn’t it? We all want to be part of something. It is in a way acquiring love, protection and familiarity. It can also provide a way to justify who you are. Your personality. Your way of viewing the world. But we can also skew our views and beliefs to conform with a group when that group accepts us. The need to belong…to be wanted…can be a powerful factor in shaping who we are.
When I was in college, I transferred from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL in the U.S. to the University of Illinois in Urbana, IL. I made this move as a means of increasing my likelihood of getting into veterinary school, which was located at the University of Illinois. But it was significantly more difficult scholastically than Southern. It was a wake up call. My performance as a student had always defined who I was and this continued from high school to Southern. But at U of Illinois, I was just another good high school student among many. I remember really struggling with a Physics class and it shook me to the core. There was no way that I could sink to getting a B grade, or lower!!
It was during this time of uncertainty that the guy who lived across the hall from me introduced me to the Bible and a group called the Navigators. I had never read the Bible before so it was a revelation to me. The Navigators were a University based evangelical Christian group that was also very anti-Catholic. My new friend took me to the church that the Navigators attended. I was immediately accepted into the group. I went from feeling isolated and vulnerable at this new school, which was challenging my identity as a student, to being welcomed with open arms. It was a strong magnet.
But then the leader of the group informed me that the group would decide where I was going to live, and with whom I would live, for the coming semester. It was a bit cultish in my estimation. And very concerning to me, as well as my parents, who were not happy with my new group association. So, I left the Navigators and found my way over to the Catholic Church on campus. My mouth fell open when I walked into a mass that was, well, a mass…of people. The place was filled with enthusiastic, singing, praying college students. AND THEY WERE CATHOLIC!! I had never experienced this in my Church back home in New Jersey. I was hooked. I felt like I was coming home. It was welcoming and familiar.
But it was no different, really, than were the Navigators. Or joining a club. Or being sucked into a cult. Or protesting a war. Or any other cause you might find yourself to be part of. It was a group that was welcoming and gave me a sense of identity.
Paul is telling the new Christians of Ephesus the same thing in his epistle we read today:
Brothers and sisters:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Paul tells the Ephesians. You are no longer strangers and you are no longer wandering around looking for a purpose. You chose to become members of the Household of God. How great is that. And Christ is the capstone…the foundation…holding it all together. Yes, they will be getting their identity from a group that will eventually be known as Christians.
And in the Gospel we read how Jesus assembled His Apostles into a group to help Him spread the message of the coming of the Kingdom of God. So joining a group, and getting an identity from that group, is not in of itself a bad thing. The question is, “which group will you join?” What identity will you glean from that group. It is as simple as the old line our parents told us: “You are the friends that you keep”
As Joshua told the Israelites:
“And Joshua said unto all the people [of Israel], … choose you this day whom ye will serve; … but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:2, 15).
