Adopted Family

Second Sunday of Advent – Cycle C

Baruch 5: 1-9; 

Philippians 1: 4-6, 8-11; 

Luke 3: 1-6

I have several hobbies that occupy my time when I'm not working. I have a huge music collection. I love old movies. One of my biggest passions involves genealogy. I love researching my family's past. I became interested in genealogy more than 30 years ago, and it still consumes me. I even wrote a book on the subject in 1996.

My love for family history has taken me to courthouses, libraries and cemeteries all over this great land. I have visited Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri in my quest to unearth more family facts and stories. I have corresponded with family members in Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Montana, Washington and California. Genealogy research today is a lot different now than it was when I first started. Today you can log onto an internet site like Ancestry.com, and in a few minutes time, you can discover details that would take years to find otherwise. (But where's the fun in that?)

My study in this area has broadened my thinking and has given me a deeper appreciation of the lives of those who came before us. One family of distant cousins living in West Virginia, were literally torn apart by the Civil War. The father and one son fought for the Confederacy while two other sons and a son-in-law joined the Union. I've often wondered if this family was able to reconcile their differences in the years following that war.

That is one of the short-comings of genealogy. You can often find names and dates – the bare bones – but the other salient details of their lives – the flesh – are not so easily discovered.

My ancestors came to America from Germany, England, Wales, Ireland, France and Belgium. Some of my ancestors were sold as indentured servants and made to work in the Virginia copper mines until their debts were paid. A few of my ancestors were slave owners. It is not something I am proud of, but it is a part of who I am.

If genealogy has taught me anything it is this: If we are to know where we are going, we must first understand the place from whence we came.

People often ask me if I am a member of the SAR – the Sons of the American Revolution. I do have several ancestors who fought for our nations' independence. However, I am barred from joining this organization. The reason I am not allowed membership is that I am adopted. I am not related to them by blood.

This small fact does not dampen the pride that I feel for my family. I may not be related on a molecular biological level, but in every other way possible, these are my people. I belong to them and they to me. We are one.

Genealogy has also given me a deeper respect and appreciation of my spiritual family. Let's face facts for a moment. Unless we had ancestors living in Jerusalem about twenty centuries ago, we are all adopted daughters and sons of this family of followers known as Christians. Many of us are here because our parents chose to baptize us as infants. Others chose baptism for themselves as adults.

Each Sunday after the homily, members of the new RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) class are invited study more deeply the word of God that is proclaimed. At Easter, these people will join our family. In the meantime, I ask that you welcome them and pray for them.

Today our nation and the world are facing some tough choices regarding immigration, illegal aliens, and the placement of refugees. These people have come here the same way our own ancestors did. Many are fleeing persecution because of their beliefs or their ethnicity. Others are simply looking for an opportunity to better enrich their lives.

These are not new or unique problems we are facing. The reason I know this comes partly from my genealogy research. There has been persecution and slavery since the beginning of recorded history. Jesus, Mary and Joseph were refugees.

These migrants and refugees are also asking to join our family. They are asking for the same things our own ancestors once desired. Will we give them their chance at freedom or will we allow fear, bigotry and hatred to color our policies?

Today's gospel says to “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be made low.” (Luke 3: 4-6) What does this mean? It is an analogy on how we are to see one another. We are to strip away irrelevancies such as height, weight, age, skin color, religious and political beliefs. Possessions and social status have no influence here. Past iniquities are forgiven. This is how God sees us. This is how we are told to see each other. It as not a change that begins outside – this change must come from within. Our hearts must change change before our world can change.

My friends, the time has come. This is the time when the winding roads are made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Deacon Darryl J. Diemer
Second Sunday of Advent
December 6, 2015

Sculpture:  John the Baptist by Chartres, 1205-1210. 
                A Jamb Figure (a figure carved into the jamb of a doorway or window)