In every person, there remains alive an essential need for stability, of an open door, of someone with whom to plan and share the story of life, a story to which one belongs. The family continues to be the school of humanity without equal, indispensable contribution to a just and solidaristic society. — Pope Francis, Vigil of Prayer
Nick Wagner of Team RCIA writes that these words from Pope Francis came to mind when he read Jesus’ warning to the apostles that he intends to set family members against each other. It has always been a difficult passage, but even more so after the pope’s insistence during the Extraordinary Synod on the Family that even the weakest and most dysfunctional families can be privileged encounters of God’s mercy and grace. Jesus is not dismissing the importance of the family. Instead, he prioritizes commitment to discipleship. Those who refuse to take up the Cross and who refuse to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the kingdom will not find peace. Pope Francis’s vision of the family has the same priority. No matter how broken, every family can be “an open door.” But it takes sacrifice, and we can begin “by saying ‘Can I? May I?’ ‘Thank you’ and ‘I’m sorry’ and never allowing the sun to set on a quarrel or misunderstanding, without having the humility to ask forgiveness”. What is common to both exhortations is the call to radical discipleship. Pope Francis challenges families to see beyond their woundedness to a mission of reconciliation. Jesus warns that without sacrificial love at its core, a family isn’t really a family in the first place. Most of us have broken relationships in our families. We don’t need to go to faraway lands to proclaim the Gospel. We can start with a phone call to the family member we haven’t talked to in years. Jesus and Pope Francis call us to this radical discipleship, a call to take up the Cross and follow.