What If We Saw Everyone as Kin?

On this, the 25th anniversary of 9/11, I return to Jesus’ example—to his way of LovingKindness, to His rabble-rouser way of putting people before rules, even within religion.

And I find myself wondering:

What if we all focused on the KinDom rather than the kingdom?

What if we saw every person as our own kin?

Discovering the KinDom

When I was in seminary, I was introduced to the work of Ada María Isasi-Díaz, a contemporary, Latina, Christian, theologian who expanded our understanding of the Divine through the experiences of Latina women, families, and communities.

She gave us the term “KinDom.”

This summer, I decided to delve more deeply into her work by reading her first book, En La Lucha/ In the Struggle – Elaborating a Mujerista Theology — a liberation theology rooted in the lived experiences of Latina women.

What a wonderful lens through which to explore God.

The BeLoved Community

I am the pastor of the BeLoved Inclusive Catholic Community. We take the best of Catholic ritual and tradition and combine it with Jesus’ Way of LovingKindness.

That means all are welcome at this table.

We believe that everyone brings gifts to the community—gifts that, when shared, can be multiplied. We are seekers and explorers, growing in God’s love and being transformed so that we can share that love more abundantly with others.

Each year, the BeLoved Leadership Circle gathers for a two-part retreat. This summer, we explored “the KinDom of Heaven” through the lens of mujerista theology.

Among the ideas we explored:

• Mujerista theology is a liberation theology. It asks: Where are we being held bound? What freedom are we seeking?

• The KinDom is here and now. Oppressed people have often been told to endure suffering in this life while waiting for a future kingdom of heaven. But Jesus proclaimed the KinDom of heaven is here - in the world.

• Jesus calls us toward a fullness of life—a life that overflows with abundance and goodness, a life that goes beyond needs to wants. A life concerned with the whole person and the whole community.

• What is individual is also communal. Think of the old saying, “A mother is only as happy as her least happy child.” How can I consider myself successful while members of my human family are suffering? Hence: KinDom.

• Women’s lived experiences matter.

• Theology emerges not only from study, but from lived experience, practice, culture, and tradition.

• Mujerista theology draws upon cultural traditions and reaches beyond the boundaries of Christianity.

• God is with us in our suffering and in the ordinary experiences of daily life.

• Our relationship with God can be deeply affectionate. We can call God Beloved and know, deep within our being, that God also calls each of us Beloved.

During our retreat, we prayed with the song We Are the World. Its message of belonging, responsibility, and care for one another resonated deeply with what we were exploring.

The KinDom Is Like Yeast

We also prayed with Jesus’ parable:

“The KinDom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

And we didn’t just read the parable.

We lived it.

We mixed the ingredients for bread, thanks to my daughter-in-love, who dropped off a Bob’s Red Mill Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix.

We watched the dough rise on the windowsill, warmed by the light of the sun—and, the Son.

We baked it and breathed in the wonderful scent of fresh bread filling the room.

And then we broke it and shared it during Communion with the words:

“Receive the Bread of Life.”

As we prayed, baked, waited, watched, and ate together, several things began to rise within me.

What If We Are the Yeast?

What if...

What if God is The Baker Woman?

The woman in Jesus’ parable mixes yeast into sixty pounds of flour. Sixty pounds!

That is one strong woman.

It makes me smile to imagine God as a BakerWoman—an image others have explored beautifully in poetry and music.

(This image is by a woman who goes by LatinoArte and is available on Etsy)

And what about the yeast? What if we see ourselves as the yeast?

Yeast is tiny and tender. It needs care. It needs water at just the right temperature. Too cold, and it remains dormant. Too hot, and it can be destroyed.

But given what it needs, something extraordinary happens.

It comes alive.

And then it helps everything around it rise.

Something so small transforms an enormous amount of flour.

And yeast is an individual component.

It needs to be in a community of other individual ingredients -

in order to transform into a cohesive dough.

And eventually, that dough goes into the heat.

Our lives can feel that way, too.

We find ourselves in situations that are heated, painful, frightening, or uncertain. Yet somehow, through the mystery of God’s presence and in community, combined with our willingness to participate in the work of LovingKindness, transformation can happen.

The dough becomes bread.

And bread becomes nourishment.

One loaf.

One piece.

One morsel at a time.

On This Anniversary

And so, on this 25th anniversary of 9/11, I keep returning to these questions:

What if we understood every person as a member of our own extended human family?

What if we understood ourselves as yeast—small, perhaps, but capable of helping others rise?

What if we understood ourselves as bread—our lives given to nourish others, one small piece at a time?

What if we understood God as BakerWoman—lovingly mixing, kneading, waiting, watching, and helping something new rise among us?

And what if this is what the KinDom looks like?

Not something we wait for someday.

Something we help create here and now.

A world in which we recognize one another as kin.

A world in which we help one another rise.

A world in which there is enough bread for everyone.

IF....

If you are searching for a God whom you can relate to…

If you are searching for a community where you can ask questions, explore your faith, and cultivate an affectionate relationship with the Divine…

If you want to spend time with others who are trying to make the world a better place through LovingKindness...

I invite you to check out the BeLoved Inclusive Catholic Community.

We gather on Sunday mornings at 10:30 AM ET on Zoom, and sometimes in person.

And yes—just like the miracle of yeast, you really can be moved, nourished, and deeply connected on Zoom.

Come try it.

There is a place for YOU at this table.

Let’s pray:

Thank you Bakerwoman God for the gift of life, for helpers, for strength

Thank you for your healing and the transformation that can happen through pain

Thank you for inviting us to grow in our understanding of you, our world and our place in this world

Thank you for inviting us to be your yeast and your bread in this world

Please help each of us – especially our leaders – to understand that we are all kin

Please help us make room for each other at the table of life

Please help us to treasure being yeast that we may help others rise

Please transform us that we may become bread for others

In your many holy names and images we hope and pray and trust

Amen. Ameen. Ashay. And so it is.

PS

If you thought of someone as you read this, please forwards this blogpost to them! Be yeast spreading LovingKindness.