Brothers and sisters hear me. I call you brothers and sisters and so you are. Although none of you have the same birth mother as I do, all of you have the same adopted parents. You are all children of my Father, the creator of heaven and earth. And you are all children of my mother, the New Jerusalem, the shining city of God, the church triumphant.
While these are spiritual truths, they are no less real, no less important than your own relationships by birth. Our bond of brotherhood is kept for us by the bonds of faithfulness of Jesus Christ. It is kept for us in heaven by His grace and might and recognized on Earth through His beloved bride.
Do not take this lightly. To the extent that you seek peace and fellowship with your own earthly parents, seek peace and fellowship with God, our Father and His Son, through His Spirit, and the bride of Christ, our Mother, the Church, through faithful living and loving.
To the extent that you seek fellowship with your born brothers and sisters, seek peace and fellowship here in the bonds of brotherhood through baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
To the best of your ability, you must be at peace with your parents and your brothers and sisters. So, too, here, to the best of your ability, you must be at peace with God and with His people. This meal says that you are. If this is true, God bless you all. But to the extent that it is not true, make sure that you are doing all that is in your power to be at peace with Father, Mother, Sister and Brother.
And so eat and drink of this blessing of unity in Christ.
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