Sacred Kinship Part 1
February 25, 2025
Sacred Kinship Part 1
You are invited to join us in this series Daily Reflections on “Sacred Kinship.”
I first heard the word “kin” in family discussions as a child. For example, a relative would ask if someone was “kin” to someone else, meaning were they were part of the same biological family. Or the word would be used to state that someone is a biological relative of a specific family—for instance, “Aunt Ruth is kin to the Robins family.” Then I noticed that the word “kin” and “kinship” could also be used to describe relationships that are close but not necessarily biological.
For example, “Robert and Melissa feel a deep kinship with one another in their love of animals.” Then I realized the term can also mean that many people share similar beliefs, ideas, or the same missions and purposes; therefore, they have kinship. And these people do not have to be biologically related. Because of their shared ideas they are a community of folks with shared kinship.
Most of us have several circles of friends with whom we have a kinship. For example, I love the heart kinship with my old friends, my fellow church members, and the people in the ICB family. These circles go beyond our biological families—they provide a wider range of people who, because of shared connections, provide wide ranges of support, help, empathy, opportunities, and love that are not available in the biological family alone.
Jesus Christ included and reached beyond his biological family to form a community of people who shared the Holy Spirit. Because of its ripple effect, that community gave rise to a globe full of Christian communities, large and small. Given its intrinsic community nature, it is doubtful that Christianity would have survived without the first Christian communities that gave rise to all others. In fact, the very transmission of Christianity through the centuries is embedded in a community built on sacred kinship.
On the Enneagram of Soul are the nine essential energies. All nine are essential for healing and wholeness. One of the nine is Sacred Kinship and resides at Point Six. Because the Enneagram is about wholeness, symbolized by its circle that encloses the nine points, it includes sacred kinship because no qualities of the soul would reach their full potential without community.
What is the power of community, and how is it essential to our survival and development as spiritual beings? We will reflect on this question this week.
Spiritual practice: Have you written a spiritual biography? Take time to reflect on your spiritual journey. What has been the role of sacred kinship in your spiritual development? Can you name the times from childhood until now when the sacred community met a need outside your or your family’s capacities?
Self-inquiry: What are some reasons why you may not prefer relying on a community?
Dear God, For those who are your arms, heart, mind, and voice, I give you thanks. In your name, Amen
