Can you really tell me what life is?
Maybe all the things that you know that are precious to you
Could be swept away by fate's own hand…
When you think that we've used all our chances
And the chance to make everything right
Keep on making the same old mistakes
Makes untipping the balance so easy
When we're living our lives on the edge
Say a prayer on the book of the dead
We're blood brothers….
(Excerpt from “Blood Brothers” by Iron Maiden)
“Blood runs thicker than water!”
It is an oft invoked saying signifying the enduring power of family bonds over the bonds of unrelated people whose only connection may be common nationality, business partnership, political affiliation, or some other common interest. While the strength of family loyalty is undoubtedly strong one does not have to look very far from home to observe the painful reality of family violence and family feuds. There is a family not far from where I live, who have become notorious for the ongoing conflict that has split the family into two factions with each being “hell-bent” on avenging old wrongs and insults inflicted by the other. Their family name carries no common thread of loyalty – it all depends on which side of the family one is connected to, and the two sides never meet except in fighting against the other.
As with so many conflicts it is impossible to know where it all began and how it turned into the “bad blood” of sworn enmity between members of the same family. I suppose we’ve all faced situations in which we’ve been hurt by the words or actions of a brother, sister, uncle or cousin. Probably nothing wounds us quite as deeply as a family member who betrays or turns against us, because family is where we expect safety, comfort, and support. To a lesser degree this is also the case in our extended family of friends and colleagues. If we cannot count on our family and closest friends to support us through life’s journey then who can we trust?
As close as family ties may be they often don’t hold against broken trust and perceived betrayal. The loneliest and most miserable of all the people in the prisons of the world are those whose families have disowned them – family relationships severed by dishonor to the family name, and by the bother of standing with a brother, son, or father through a time of trouble.
It was during the time of the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland that I met two men from prison who were from different families on opposite sides of the bloody conflict between Catholics and Protestants. Liam McCloskey was a terrorist on the Catholic side of the conflict, a member of the INLA (Irish National Liberation Army). He was among the leaders in the fight who had joined Bobby Sands and others in the dirty protest in the Maze prison and then in a hunger strike during which Bobby Sands and nine other men died for the cause of securing the rights of Irish Republican Army prisoners. Almost at the point of death when Liam’s family vowed to have him taken off the strike if he continued Liam gave in and was taken to the prison hospital.
Jimmy Gibson was the other prisoner and was also serving time in the Maze prison except that he was a paramilitary fighter on the Protestant side with the UDA (Ulster Defense Association). Like Liam he had been arrested and detained for his role in the violence and bloodshed that was terrorizing Northern Ireland. Along with their respective compatriots they were kept in segregated sections of prison units known as “H-Block” units.
By virtue of their loyalty to opposing forces Liam and Jimmy had no reason to know each other and as far as they were concerned, they had every reason to hate each other and fight each other to the death. They were enemy combatants and were ready to kill and die for their cause. But as Liam gradually regained his health after the hunger strike he began to read a Bible that had been given to him by a doctor in the prison hospital. Although he had been raised in the church he could not believe the amazing story of Jesus, it was as if he was if he was encountering him for the very first time. As he began to realize who Jesus really was and what he had done he said, “I’ve come to the conclusion, reading the Bible, that I either have to follow the IRA or I have to follow Jesus Christ.” He could not do both and so he turned to Jesus.
When
Liam was released from the hospital and returned to the prison the first thing
he did was to break rank with his IRA brothers in the mess hall by cross over to
Protestant side. He sat in the only empty seat he could find, it was right
next to Jimmy Gibson. A tense silence followed as everyone expected a
confrontation and violence. “What have you come here for” hissed Jimmy
“don’t you bloody know what you’re doing?” “I’ve come here
because I love you, you’re my brother now,” replied Liam, and began telling
Jimmy how he had come to know Jesus. From that first encounter Jimmy and
Liam grew to become unlikely friends and it wasn’t long before Jimmy also
turned from the violence and the hatred that had characterized his life in the
UVA to embrace the way of Jesus.When I met Liam and Jimmy some months later it was still the time of “Troubles” in Northern Ireland, but they had both been let out of prison on a temporary furlough to publicly tell their story. “Two years ago, if I’d met Jimmy on the street I would have killed him,” declared Liam as he looked at Jimmy. “But today I’d give my life for him because we are brothers.” “I’d have done the same” responded Jimmy. The two men, terrorists from opposing sides, stood before us with their arms around each others shoulders and said, “Jesus loves us, and gave his life for us.” “He has forgiven us and we can no longer fight each other because we’re brothers now.”
Liam and Jimmy - “blood brothers” – not by family ties or genealogy, but because of Jesus, the one who gave his life, who shed his blood to heal and reconcile them to himself and to each other. Brothers by and in the blood of Jesus Christ, a loyalty that runs to the very heart of human existence - outlasting political allegiance, nationality and cultural affinity, friendships and partnerships, and even family ties.
“…and he reconciled all things to himself through him –
whether things on earth or in the heavens.
He brought peace through the blood of his cross.
Once you were alienated from God
and you were enemies with him in your minds,
which was shown by your evil actions.
But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death,
to present you before God as a people who are holy, faultless, and without blame.”
(Colossians 1:20-22 CEB)