Today we celebrate the solemn feast of God, the Father of all mankind. We are indeed blessed here in our parish that this is the only parish in Aklan which celebrates the said feast with the holy octave of consecration to God our Father. Thanks to the initiative of Ma’am Inday Luces and our Parish Liturgical Team.
Why is it significant for us to celebrate this event? What is the relevance of celebrating this solemn feast of God the Father of all mankind to our church? At the very heart of this question lies the quest of understanding our relationship with God.
In the Old Testament, God is revealed as the Creator and all others are His creatures. With this kind of understanding, we establish a relationship with God as that of a Creator and creature. As a Creator, God seems to be far distant from man. He is up there in heaven and we are here below on earth. In order to meet Him, one needs to go where God is. He needs to go up to the mountain. God is on high separated from man so that the mountain is a good image of a meeting place. This is what the word El Shaddai means –the God of the mountain. It is the name, by which God was known to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 6:3,). In Exodus 3: 1-3, Moses too met God on a mountain –Mount Horeb. At that instance, Moses was trying to get “closer” to see God, but God told him “Come no nearer!” In this case, God was near yet so far.
In the New Testament, Jesus revealed to us who God is by calling Him “Father”. In truth, God is the Father of Jesus by nature. And then Jesus taught His disciples to call God their Father. In calling God as a Father, His disciples became children of God, not by nature but by baptism and grace through Christ Jesus.
The Fatherhood of God is not only for the early disciples of Jesus. It is for all those who are baptized. We too become children of God and He is our father by baptism through Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26-27). And every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father, we acknowledge what kind of Father God is.
As a Father, God who is in heaven is CLOSE TO US, who wills to establish a familiar relationship with us His children as His Kingdom comes and His will is done on earth as in heaven. As a Father, God is a Provider as He gives us our daily bread. As a Father, God is Merciful as He forgives us our sins. As a Father, God is a Protector as He delivers us not into the test. Of course, God is even beyond our human description but using the language of faith, He is the best Father.
Going back to my question stated earlier “why it is significant for us to celebrate this event”, well this is the time for us to reflect IF WE HAVE BEEN A CHILD OF GOD as Jesus revealed to us that God is OUR FATHER. How far we have become children of God then?
Some of us if not all have the difficulty in addressing God as a Father. Sometimes it is difficult to approach God and conduct ourselves as His children. Just like the rich man in the parable of Jesus (Lk. 12:13-21), we think and act in a way we ignore God as a Father. Just like the rich man, we never thought of God who provides us a great harvest. Just like the rich man, we never thought of God who protects us from any harm or fortuitous event. Just like the rich man, we never thought of getting closer to God as we declare to ourselves, “Take ease, eat, drink and be merry.” Just like the rich man, we are overwhelmed by our childish ways that we often forget to turn to God for mercy.
My dear friends, sometimes this difficulty of calling God “Father” is rooted in our experience of our human father. Our human father is imperfect. And when all we see from him is imperfections –drinking, womanizing, gambling, irresponsible parenting, etc., we get a distorted image of a father. We become unaware that we carry such distorted image we have of a father and unconsciously project it to God our Father: If our father is strict, so God is to us. If our father does not listen, so God is to us. If we find it difficult to embrace our human father, so we too feel before God.
But God is not like our human father. If our father could hurt us, God would not do it to us. If our father could reject us, God would not do it to us. God as a Father is the best Father we have. And on this solemn feast, we are called to consecrate ourselves with a childlike attitude to Him. This is the moment we renew our familial bond before God our Father no matter what is our experience with our human father. This is the day to claim our birthright and declare –I am a child of God.
This is the time we can sing to Him:
I KNOW AND I BELIEVE
MY FATHER LOVES ME
HE NEVER LEAVES ME
I ALWAYS WANT TO BE
LIKE MY FATHER
HE’S EVERYTHING TO ME I AM MY FATHER’S CHILD
Why is it significant for us to celebrate this event? What is the relevance of celebrating this solemn feast of God the Father of all mankind to our church? At the very heart of this question lies the quest of understanding our relationship with God.
In the Old Testament, God is revealed as the Creator and all others are His creatures. With this kind of understanding, we establish a relationship with God as that of a Creator and creature. As a Creator, God seems to be far distant from man. He is up there in heaven and we are here below on earth. In order to meet Him, one needs to go where God is. He needs to go up to the mountain. God is on high separated from man so that the mountain is a good image of a meeting place. This is what the word El Shaddai means –the God of the mountain. It is the name, by which God was known to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 6:3,). In Exodus 3: 1-3, Moses too met God on a mountain –Mount Horeb. At that instance, Moses was trying to get “closer” to see God, but God told him “Come no nearer!” In this case, God was near yet so far.
In the New Testament, Jesus revealed to us who God is by calling Him “Father”. In truth, God is the Father of Jesus by nature. And then Jesus taught His disciples to call God their Father. In calling God as a Father, His disciples became children of God, not by nature but by baptism and grace through Christ Jesus.
The Fatherhood of God is not only for the early disciples of Jesus. It is for all those who are baptized. We too become children of God and He is our father by baptism through Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:26-27). And every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father, we acknowledge what kind of Father God is.
As a Father, God who is in heaven is CLOSE TO US, who wills to establish a familiar relationship with us His children as His Kingdom comes and His will is done on earth as in heaven. As a Father, God is a Provider as He gives us our daily bread. As a Father, God is Merciful as He forgives us our sins. As a Father, God is a Protector as He delivers us not into the test. Of course, God is even beyond our human description but using the language of faith, He is the best Father.
Going back to my question stated earlier “why it is significant for us to celebrate this event”, well this is the time for us to reflect IF WE HAVE BEEN A CHILD OF GOD as Jesus revealed to us that God is OUR FATHER. How far we have become children of God then?
Some of us if not all have the difficulty in addressing God as a Father. Sometimes it is difficult to approach God and conduct ourselves as His children. Just like the rich man in the parable of Jesus (Lk. 12:13-21), we think and act in a way we ignore God as a Father. Just like the rich man, we never thought of God who provides us a great harvest. Just like the rich man, we never thought of God who protects us from any harm or fortuitous event. Just like the rich man, we never thought of getting closer to God as we declare to ourselves, “Take ease, eat, drink and be merry.” Just like the rich man, we are overwhelmed by our childish ways that we often forget to turn to God for mercy.
My dear friends, sometimes this difficulty of calling God “Father” is rooted in our experience of our human father. Our human father is imperfect. And when all we see from him is imperfections –drinking, womanizing, gambling, irresponsible parenting, etc., we get a distorted image of a father. We become unaware that we carry such distorted image we have of a father and unconsciously project it to God our Father: If our father is strict, so God is to us. If our father does not listen, so God is to us. If we find it difficult to embrace our human father, so we too feel before God.
But God is not like our human father. If our father could hurt us, God would not do it to us. If our father could reject us, God would not do it to us. God as a Father is the best Father we have. And on this solemn feast, we are called to consecrate ourselves with a childlike attitude to Him. This is the moment we renew our familial bond before God our Father no matter what is our experience with our human father. This is the day to claim our birthright and declare –I am a child of God.
This is the time we can sing to Him:
I KNOW AND I BELIEVE
MY FATHER LOVES ME
HE NEVER LEAVES ME
I ALWAYS WANT TO BE
LIKE MY FATHER
HE’S EVERYTHING TO ME I AM MY FATHER’S CHILD
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