Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 7640 Plough Quarterly • Winter 2015 J esus loved little children. According to the Gospel writers, he would place them front and center as an example of how to receive the good news, and he was ­ indignant when his friends spoke sternly to them. He taught his followers that unless we become like children, we cannot enter the kingdom of God. But Jesus does not appear to have the same admiration for the family. Here his teach- ing often seems harsh, even alarming. Jesus told a would-be disciple who wanted to show basic decency to his deceased father, “Let the dead bury their own dead” (Luke 9:60). He commanded his disciples: Leave parents, sib- lings, spouse – even “hate” them – and follow me. When his own mother and brothers came to see him, Jesus’ reaction was terse: “Who are my mother and my brothers?” Looking at those seated around him he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:31–35). Jesus himself founded no family – he took no wife, fathered no children, and even called some to be “eunuchs” (Matt. 19: 11–12). Contrary to the tradition that salvation is guaranteed by ancestry or that one’s highest social obligation is to family, he reminded his listeners that the cov- enant that first drew God’s people together was based not on bloodlines but on faith and the miraculous power of God (John 8:31–59). This is why Jesus dethroned the biologi- cal family. While he never denied the family’s worth as a creation of God, he made clear that its importance is not absolute; it is not the primary means by which God’s grace is trans- mitted to this broken world. Something else is. Jesus calls his disciples to give their alle- giance first and foremost to him. Those who forsake human security, including their fami- lies, will receive “a hundredfold now in this age – houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions – and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:29–31). In calling into question the primacy of the family, B a c k t o B a s i c s Jesus’SurprisingFamilyValues C H A R L E S E . M O O R E Above, detail from Vincent van Gogh’s Still Life: Potatoes in a Yellow Dish From WikiArt (public domain)