Forget About Me

Learning to put others before ourselves

Acts of the Apostles 15:1-6

Some who had come down from Judea were instructing the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the Mosaic practice, you cannot be saved.” Because there arose no little dissension and debate by Paul and Barnabas with them, it was decided that Paul, Barnabas, and some of the others should go up to Jerusalem to the Apostles and presbyters about this question.

          Have you ever had a “family meeting” where your whole family gets together to discuss a problem or makes a plan for the future? Some families have these meetings on a regular basis, like weekly or monthly, just to share stories and deal with difficulties. Of course, teenagers typically hate such family meetings. One teenager said that her family meetings were lame and stupid. Then she spent the night at a friend’s home. She came home the next day and declared, “That family is so screwed up; they should have family meetings!”

          Some companies have family meetings, too, like Walmart. They call their family meeting an “annual shareholders’ meeting,” but they, too, share stories and deal with difficulties. Now, they also have superstar entertainers at their meetings, like the actress, Reece Witherspoon, who came last year. Maybe you should invite Reece Witherspoon to your next family meeting, so your kids won’t think it’s stupid or lame.

          The Catholic Church also has family meetings, called “ecumenical councils,” where the pope and bishops likewise gather to share stories and deal with difficulties. In 2000 years, we’ve held 21 ecumenical councils, so we’re averaging one council every hundred years. Maybe Pope Francis should invite Reece Witherspoon to the next one, and more bishops might come.

          In the first reading today from Acts 15, we hear about the very first family meeting the Church ever held, even though Reece Witherspoon was not there. At that first council (not one of the 21 ecumenical councils), the pope (St. Peter) and the bishops (the Apostles) met to share stories and deal with difficulties. The chief concern was circumcision for adult men. Fortunately, the council of Jerusalem decided not to require adult converts to Christianity to be circumcised – all the men breathe a collective sigh of relief. Now, maybe some people in the early Christian community felt that a “family meeting” in Jerusalem was lame and stupid. But that first family meeting was where the Holy Spirit did some of his best work in guiding the Christian family.

          The best definition I’ve heard of family is actually an acronym for the word “family,” where each letter represents another word. This may sound a little lame, but it gets to the heart of family life. F.A.M.I.L.Y. means “forget about me, I love you.” And this is why teenagers think family meetings are lame and stupid, because they have to forget about themselves and put others first. That’s hard to do for all of us. At family meetings, we put others before ourselves when we take a vacation somewhere that wasn’t our first choice, when we raise the minimum wage for workers, when we say no circumcision for new Christians. You see, a family meeting is not just a time to share stories and deal with difficulties; it’s also a perfect place to “forget about me, I love you.”

          Praised be Jesus Christ!