The Christian Mafia
“Who are My mother and My brothers?” Mark 3:33
Who Are – The mafia did not begin as a criminal organization. It began as a brotherhood of protection. But long before Sicilians banded together to defend themselves against invading Muslims, Jesus brought into existence an organization that should have made the mafia unnecessary. It’s called the ekklesia – the church. It was supposed to be the place of encouragement, nurturing, protection and community – with one huge difference. Unlike the mafia, the church operates on the principle of self-sacrificing love.
Today, it seems as though Jesus’ ekklesia is a fractured image of the original. Perhaps we need a new revolution – a reconstitution of the church as the Christian mafia. Of course, we would not embrace the violence and deceit and illegal behavior. But we should welcome the camaraderie, care for those in the community and, above all, protect, defend and serve the family.
Who belongs to this organization that honors its elders, respects its rules and lives by a blood-oath commitment? Jesus asked, and answered, this very question. Who are included? The answer: everyone who does the will of My Father. Everyone! Not just those who assemble at my building, live in my city or speak my language. Everyone who does the will of My Father is my family. If you belong, I am obligated to protect you, to care for you, to serve you – willingly – because you would do the same for me. This is a brotherhood of believers, not a convenient, social association. This is family. Nothing gets in the way of the family. Not politics. Not power. Not poverty – or wealth. Not personal preference. This is family. Period.
I’m afraid that a great deal of those who call themselves Christians are individually associated with the head of the organization, but corporately disconnected from their family. They think that they are part of the family, but the truth is that they only know the Don. They have no commitment to everyone who does the will of the Father. They think that their private conversations with Jesus guarantees inclusion in the community. They’re mistaken. The mark of the Christian is not his love for Christ. It is his love for the rest of those who honor and serve Christ. Jesus called it “love for one another.” The real Christian is intimately intertwined with the family. That’s where his love shows itself.
There are brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers in your family who need you. They need protection, encouragement, assistance and hope. They need more than your occasional visits with the Don. They need your blood, sweat and tears. They are dying for it. So, Jesus asks, “Who are you?” Are you family? Or just a visitor?
