So much for family values

Dylan's lectionary blog: "Jesus is saying here that his mission will divide people from one another. Specifically, Jesus says that his mission will divide families, setting children against parents and parents against children.

So much for 'family values.' Why on earth would Jesus say such a thing?"

At their best, our family values are based on Old Testament ethics. They teach us how to act as a family with honor, respect and obedience.

Jesus seems more postmodern in his interpretation. Family isn't defined by blood but by relationship. He calls those on the journey of faith with him his family. So what matters for us is not what it means to be a family, but more importantly what it means to be a community of faith--the family of God.

This is something I haven't been able to completely wrap the folds of my brain around. What does that mean for the "family ministry" model I've tried to develop? One thing that jumps at me is that having children integrated into the community of faith at times such as worship is all the more important, not simply because they need to be with their families, but precisely because their family is now different from the blood nucleus it was before Christ.