We Are Family

There was a formal ball one evening,

And Lynda Johnson decided on short notice that she wanted to go.

But there was little time to get ready, and she didn’t have anyone to take her.

So her daddy, Lyndon, called in the Marines.

He asked the General to pick a good young Marine

And send him over to the White House to serve as Lynda Bird's escort.

The General considered his choices there at the 8^th & I Barracks.

And he sent a young officer—Lt. Chuck Robb.

That’s one of the stories the old General liked to tell.

He’d known President Johnson before that.

But this chance role as matchmaker brought him closer into the Johnson family.

I first began chatting with the long-retired General at my daughter’s soccer games.

My daughter and his only grandchild, Danielle, were eight-year-olds and best friends.

He was a very devoted and involved grandfather.

Trying to fill in for his son, Danielle’s father, who had died shortly before she was born.

Danielle and her mother lived just down the street from us.

And I’d see him there a few times a week, doing handyman jobs or just visiting.

Every summer he and his wife would pick up Danielle and her mother.

And drive down to the small farm in Tennessee where he’d grown up.

They’d stay there a couple months, visiting with a few locals,

Swimming in the river that ran through the yard,

Doing a few chores, but not too much work.

And enjoying a peaceful country rest.

As the girls grew older, we started letting our daughter make the trip with them.

And then we’d go down a couple weeks later, stay a few days, and bring her home.

The farmhouse was a few miles down a shady dirt road from the nearest little town.

The main house was fairly large for a farmhouse, and surrounded by dense woods.

In the early 1800s it had been an inn for travelers who came by that route to ford the river.

There was a smaller cottage behind the house.

An old couple, James and Ella, lived in the cottage.

They took care of the whole property most of the year while the General was away.

As they had done for decades while his career kept him too busy for long visits.

James’ father had worked the farm for the General's father.

James had been born in that cottage and never moved away.

He had been like an older brother to the General when they were boys.

And now the old farmer enjoyed calling his important world-traveled friend Little Brother.

And so, each summer they all lived on the farm, like one happy family.

Old James calling the General Little Brother.

And my daughter calling him Pappa.

Though neither title was technically correct.

And when we came to visit and retrieve our daughter, we were treated like family too.

It’s a real honor to have someone tell us that they consider us family.

And deeply touching when they treat us in a way that shows that they really do.

So this morning we should be exceedingly honored and exceedingly touched.

Because we just heard the words of Jesus, telling us that he considers us family.

No mere General.

No mere President.

But Jesus himself.

3rd Tuesday Ordinary Time

Mk 3:31-35      Read this Scripture @usccb.org