Then We Are Family

Yesterday, we laid Rev. Fr. Arsen Barsamian to rest. We prayerfully placed him in the loving hands of God, whom he served faithfully for sixty-six years. As I stood there, at St. James Armenian Church in Watertown, MA surrounded by his family, friends, and parishioners, one simple memory returned to my heart.

When I first visited Der Arsen at his senior living residence, I leaned close to him and said, “Der Hayr, my brother’s name is Arsen, and we are Barsamian too.”

He took my hand, smiled with that gentle, knowing smile of his, and said, “Then we are family.”

I will never forget those words.

His body was weak, but his heart was full of love. He spoke only a few words, yet those words carried the warmth of a lifetime. With one simple sentence, he welcomed me, blessed me, and reminded me what the Church truly is.

The Apostle Paul writes, “You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).

That is the Church: the household of God.

In Christ, we are no longer strangers. We are no longer people standing at a distance. We become brothers and sisters. We become family.

Isn’t that what every human heart longs for? We want to know that we belong. We want someone to take our hand and say, “You are not a stranger. You are not alone. You are part of us.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ lived this way. He welcomed those whom others rejected. He ate with those whom society avoided. He touched the sick, listened to the forgotten, and called ordinary people His friends and family

As members of Christ’s Church, we are called to do the same. We may not preach a sermon or perform a great deed, but we can notice someone who feels alone. We can welcome the person standing quietly at the door. We can take a hand, offer a smile, and make room at the table.

This is how the Church becomes the household of God—not only through what we believe, but through the way we love. May our homes, our churches, and our hearts always be places where people hear, in one way or another: “You are not alone. You belong here. We are family.”