Tribal Adjectives

By Fr. Jerry Pokorsky ( bio - articles - email ) | Aug 18, 2025

This teaching of Jesus is startling, perhaps even more unnerving than His confrontations with the Pharisees:

Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. (Lk. 12:51-53)

A well-placed adjective may help us understand this essential instruction.

Families, tribes, and nations provide the framework of healthy living. We take refuge in the security of these associations that bind us together. The Chosen People and the Twelve Tribes of Israel form the foundation of the People of God in the Old Testament, preparing the way for the coming of Jesus. Jesus, the Word of God, takes flesh when Mary says to the Angel, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done unto me according to thy Word.” And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.

Jesus fulfills and replaces the Old Testament. His passion and death fulfill and replace the sacrifices of the Temple. After His glorious Resurrection and the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, His Church became the universal people of God. Catholic worship fulfills and replaces the worship of the Jews. The Liturgy of the Word replaces the proclamation of the word in the synagogue. The single sacrifice of Jesus, re-presented in an unbloody fashion in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, replaces the Temple sacrifices. The Mass is the source and summit of the Christian life.

Tribes represent clusters of families, and the bonds of blood sustain the human race throughout history. Jesus prepares the Church for her Catholic mission by choosing twelve apostles to replace the twelve tribes of Israel. Tribal bloodlines do not bind the apostles. Henceforth, their relationship to Jesus defines their brotherhood.

Old Catholic catechisms had instructive images of the Mystical Body of Christ. In cartoon graphics, we see Jesus with His arms extended to embrace the whole world. The sketch often exhibits a myriad of images that make up His garment, and include faces of every race and nation. The Church rises above every tribe and nation. The Church is the Way, the way of life. The Church is universal. The Church is Catholic.

The Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and every summary of the faith are accessible and instruct all peoples. The Ten Commandments are not tribal; they apply to all nations and every generation. The Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist incorporate us into the universal Mystical Body of Christ. The Sacraments sustain us in the life of faith. Our faith and our encounter with Jesus in the Sacraments give meaning to our existence and final destiny as individuals, families, tribes, and nations. The teachings and ministry of Jesus remind us that the unifying grace of the tribe of Jesus is more powerful than the bonds of blood. His sacraments elevate, restore, and heal our wounded nature throughout our lives. His Commandments universally apply. The Apostles’ Creed—and every Church creed deriving from them—show us the universal way: “I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”

As we consider our Catholic faith—and the faith of Catholics around the world—we are accustomed to referring to American Catholics, European Catholics, Asian Catholics, Hispanic Catholics, or African Catholics. But the tribal adjectives modify the Catholic noun. Perhaps it would be better to accentuate the universality of the Catholic faith, which transcends every nation, as we modify every tribe with the Catholic adjective: Catholic Americans, Catholic Europeans, Catholic Asians, Catholic Africans, and so on.

Fairness requires us to recognize a healthy form of sectarian Catholic tribalism. We are often oblivious to the human suffering in distant lands until we hear of the suffering and persecution of Christians. The persecution provokes us to focus and mobilize our concerns to come to the aid of our brethren and defeat our enemies—and, with God’s grace, extend our care to all of humanity in the process.

The Catholic adjective also applies to saints and sinners. We are not alcoholic Catholics, homosexual Catholics, adulterous Catholics, and so on. We are Catholics and children of God who are sinners (with a few saints thrown in for good measure) in need of God’s grace. When our sinful tendencies, organizations, and associations define us rather than our Catholic faith, we risk reverting to blood tribalism. No need to be doctrinaire, but perhaps we could use “Catholic” more as an adjective than a noun to maintain our membership in the tribe of Jesus.

As we consider the global landscape, we cannot help but notice the excesses of tribalism and nationalism. The sins of individuals and families metastasize within cultures and across national boundaries. As long as we have Original Sin and its effects, we’ll suffer from the consequences of the seven deadly sins and the violations of the Ten Commandments. Until the end of time, we will have wars and rumors of war among tribes and nations.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace on His terms, not ours. Family and tribal patterns are often vindictive, evil, and destructive. Jesus reminds us that His universal teachings contradict the sinful bonds of family and tribes. He comes to break the bonds of blood that harm us. He comes to divide and then unify us with His love.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith….” (Heb. 12:1-2)