1 Maccabees 12:19-23: a reflection

19And this is the copy of the letters which they sent to Onias: 20“Arius king of the Spartans to Onias the chief priest, greetings. 21It has been found in writing, concerning the Spartans and the Jews, that they are kindred, and that they are of the descendants of Abraham. 22Now, since this has come to our knowledge, you will do well to write to us of your prosperity. 23We moreover write on our part to you, that your livestock and goods are ours, and ours are yours. We do command therefore that they make report to you accordingly.”

This passage records a letter from the Spartans to the Jewish high priest, claiming a bond of kinship: it was found in writing, they say, that the Spartans and the Jews are kindred, both descended from Abraham; and on the strength of that claimed kinship, they offer friendship and mutual regard. Whatever the historical basis for the claim, the letter reaches across great distance to affirm a bond, a sense that these two peoples belonged, in some way, to one another.

Notice the impulse behind the letter: the desire to recognize and honor a bond of kinship. Having heard that they shared a common ancestor, the Spartans wished to acknowledge the tie, to treat the Jews not as strangers but as family, offering their goods and goodwill. There is something good in this recognition of a bond, in reaching across distance to affirm that we belong to one another, rather than treating one another as strangers.

That points to a deeper bond that unites the people of God. In Christ, believers are made one family, brothers and sisters, children of the same Father, however great the distance and difference between us. We are bound together not by earthly kinship, but by a common Father and a common redemption, into one family of faith. Do not treat other believers as strangers, when in Christ they are your family. Recognize and honor the bond that unites you to fellow Christians across every distance and difference; for in Christ you belong to one another, children of the same Father, members of one family. Reach across the distances that divide, and affirm the kinship you share with all who belong to Christ, treating them not as strangers but as the family they are.

Lord, this passage records the Spartans reaching across great distance to affirm a bond of kinship with the Jews, wishing to treat them as family rather than strangers. Point me through it to the deeper bond that unites your people. In Christ, believers are made one family, brothers and sisters, children of the same Father, however great the distance and difference between us; we are bound together not by earthly kinship, but by a common Father and a common redemption, into one family of faith. Keep me from treating other believers as strangers, when in Christ they are my family. Help me recognize and honor the bond that unites me to fellow Christians across every distance and difference; for in Christ I belong to them, and they to me, children of the same Father. Help me reach across the distances that divide, and affirm the kinship I share with all who belong to Christ, treating them not as strangers but as the family they are. Knit me together with your people in love.