We’ve heard a lot about citizenship recently and how it is acquired. In law there are two generally recognized options: jus soli (law of soil, or where you are born) and jus sanguinis (law of blood, or the citizenship of your ancestors). There has been some pushback in this country against jus soli, or “birthright citizenship.” But there has also been recent pushback in other countries on jus sanguinis, with, for example, Italy cutting back on citizenship through descent. The truth is that in the context of a nation state – a secular construction – there is no right or wrong answer, simply a choice.
But things are a little different in terms of our religious or faith “citizenship,” as Jesus shows in today’s Gospel reading. The Jews to whom he is talking claim that they are descendants of Abraham, and thus Abraham’s children. No, Jesus says, you are only Abraham’s children if you act like Abraham. The way you are acting – not accepting me and my word – is not what Abraham would have done. And this passage has a mirror in Matthew 3, where John the Baptist tells the Pharisees and Sadducees to bear fruit worthy of repentance rather than telling themselves they have Abraham as a father, because “God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”
The point Jesus (and John) are making is that our religious identity is based neither on our descent, nor on our physical inheritance or location. We are all God’s children, and the only question is whether we understand, accept, and live up to that. As St. Paul famously says in Galatians 3: “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Neither blood nor soil make us God’s children – only our understanding and acceptance of God’s love can do that.
Will Morris
Assisting Priest for Engaging Local Communities
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