oh, brother!
"Let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, instead of doing away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh. His brothers agreed." —Genesis 37:27
To Joseph's brothers, brotherhood meant not killing their brother but selling him. We Christians are brothers and sisters with one another. At Mass, we are repeatedly addressed as brothers and sisters. Does brotherhood and sisterhood mean more to us than it did to Joseph's brothers?
Brotherhood and sisterhood should mean that:
- We are one as Jesus and the Father are one (Jn 17:21).
- "If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members share its joy" (1 Cor 12:26).
- We share our very lives with our brothers and sisters (1 Thes 2:8).
- We are willing to die for our brothers and sisters (1 Jn 3:16).
Christian brotherhood and sisterhood is so important to God that He became a human being, called us to be adopted children of God, and thereby became our Brother (see Heb 2:11). On Judgment Day, we will be judged according to what we have done or not done to the least of our brothers and sisters (Mt 25:40, 45).
Although Christian brotherhood and sisterhood is essential to Christianity, it is widely ignored. Therefore, throughout the world, the Holy Spirit is raising up small Christian communities to strengthen our brotherhood and sisterhood and thereby rebuild the Church. Join a Christian community. Be a brother or a sister in Christ.
Prayer: Father, rebuild the relationships in the Church.
Promise: "The Stone Which the builders rejected has become the Keystone of the structure. It was the Lord Who did this and we find it marvelous to behold." —Mt 21:42; Ps 118:22
Praise: Having lived together, shared finances together, and prayed together for ten years, Mark and Will have grown closer to each other and to the Lord.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, August 18, 2001
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, August 25, 2001