Family and change

People at the end of the 19^th century felt very much the way we do about family. At the turn of the 20^th century, many people of faith were convinced that the family was going to “hell in a handbasket.” (Sound familiar?) Their particular concern was the growing prevalence of divorce. At the time, there was a movement within the Episcopal Church to prohibit divorce by a constitutional amendment – very much like those who advocated the Temperance movement. The “tea-totalers” were more successful in their efforts – but then we see how that all turned out. What’s the lesson here? Over a 100 years ago, a significant number of people of faith thought that society was literally coming to an end – but we know that it didn’t. We are still here. The human family, if nothing else, is tough and resilient. It’s not going to die. It’s just going to change. Family, as we understand it, is at its root a human institution, divinely ordered as we may find it. But it, too will change, as we change our understanding of what it means to be human. And one thing we know for sure – change itself is part of what that means!